Being Marooned
by AllDayIDreamAboutFics
Summary: After a devastating storm at the ocean, Serenity and Seto are marooned on a deserted island. Will they find their way back home?
1. Day1:Being Marooned, the COLOR, that is!

**#.#.#.#.# Being 'Marooned' #.#.#.#.#**

_Story by: AllDay,IDreamAboutFics_

Chapter One: . . . _The Color That Is_

_-_

_-_

_-_

Serenity Wheeler was very afraid. She thought of herself as a brave girl, had been told enough times, but now all her courage slipped off her as sheets of rain stuck to her skin. She felt horribly wet, lonely, even though she was wearing a heavy coat, she was soaked to the skin. Even though she was with others, her stomach hurt and ached, like it does with disunion. The boat rocked hard, causing her to slip on the deck, as the shouts of the others rose over the crashing, breaking thunder.

"Look! A water spout!" a warm, masculine voice said, pointing.

"Big brother!" Serenity tried to get up, to go to him, wanting his arms to be around her and to be comforted. But her bare leg twisted out under her and she fell flat on her face, if she didn't put outher arms to break her fall. How did this 'birthday party' get _so_ out of hand?! 

The water spout -- which is really just a tornado, except on water -- was as thick as if to have it's own zip code, neared ominously towards the already-sinking Kaiba Boat 3, and Serenity's dark, hazel eyes widened to show the whites at the mere sight of it. She stood, transfixed,as there was an earsplitting, deafening _KRAK_ of lightning, blinding her. She couldn't hear anymore. She couldn't see anymore.

_I'm. Dead!_ she thought as "_**SERENIIIITYYY!"**_ Joey shouted heart-wrenchingly, as the air filled with weird whooshing sounds, whining soundsof high-speed wind, and the screaming cries of her friends.

The water spout, lifted the tiny boat with Serenity on it, and threw it around like an overused rag doll. Serenity felt herself actually being lifted, in mid air, as if she were 'Peter Pan' about to fly, screaming her throat out for someone to help her. She saw Tristan, Tea and Yugi spinning around flat, like frisbees and then, blackness.

"O_hhhh_….."

Serenity groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. She felt cold as memories flooded through her mind, incoherent and unlasting. She felt hot, as if the sun were cooking her, alive! _Cannibals! I'm being made into soup!_ Caught between sensations, she shivered in indecision. 

Something stuck to the back of her legs and she felt something sift through her fingers. _Sand_. A roar. _The ocean?_ Serenity instantly acquired another phobia: _the ocean._

Her mouth felt dry, and her stomach was rumbling loudly andhungrily; it shook her entire, tiny frame. At five feet, three inches, Serenity Wheeler had been tossed _way_ overboard. _Water…..n-no water . . .need . . w . . . water . . ._Serenity wasn't sure if she'd meant that there was no water, or that she didn't want any because of her new phobia.

"Too tired ……to go look……" she murmured under her breath, taking a short rest. Quickly, her mind functions scanned what must've happened. And where she was? Sand meant a beach. A beach meant an island, or a seashore. _Obviously_. Serenity crawled to the shade so she wouldn't fry in the scorching sum to think some more. _Joey!!! Where JOEY?!_

Just as obviously, something _bad_ must've happened to him, or else he would be with her. . .right now. Serenity let out a string of dry sobs. Her slender shoulders shook from the racking, she clutched at her now freezing, chilledbare arms.

She felt a footstep. Didn't hear it, but _felt_ it through her left buttock, a vibration of the ground and a puff of air, like a reptile does as it crawls along dunes. "Who's there?!" No answer. "If someone's there, please help me find my brother!"

"Stupid girl. If I were a tiger, your _screaming_ would've made him your next meal."

But to Serenity, the sarcasm of the words were slurred together and in a deep mumble, sounding much like the rumbling of the ocean. "What?" she said loudly, so the other person could speak up. She raised her hand to her cheek and snapped her fingers. No sound. "Why can't I see?!" she hollered, panicking.

"Because your eyes are shut!" _That,_ she heard.

"T-they are?" Touching her face and eyes, she found out it was true. Somehow, they were firmly shut, no matter how much she _willed_ them open.

Serenity, as a last resort, tried to probe them open with her fingers physically, while trying to place the voice, scanning her jumbled memories that seemed to have been put in disarray. It was deep, and masculine…..obviously, a boy's. It _sounded_ friendly. Friendly and rough, even though her ears weren't working well because of lightning crashing. _It's JOEY!!_ H-he's here!

The thought excited her so much, that she gave a sudden start, a quick movement, and then she was on her hands and knees. Forgetting that she couldn't see or hear, forgetting that she had no food, water, was stuck in the wilderness probably forever, Serenity clung to the ray of hope that God had bestown on her. _Literally_ clung, since she took an accurate guess at where the person was kneeling, and leapt, throwing her arms around to embrace. Her arms closed around a tall masculine body, who for some reason stiffened underneath her touch, on target on the first try.

"Big brother! You're all right!" Tears formed in her dry eyes, stinging them harshly, but the lubrication helped them to open finally. Slowly. Time seemed to slow down as she realized why they had been reluctant to open.

_One:_ the sun was so blinding bright, reflecting on the white sand, bouncing from the glittering turquoise sea, to the puffy white clouds overhead on the sky blue sky.

_Two:_ The body she held was NOT her brother's. Instead of sandy blond hair, cut messily longish, she saw neat short, straight brown hair, dark as the shade she was under. Skin, and lots of it, a different shade than her brother's. _Muchly_ different.

"!?!?!? What the $#?" Her first curse word erupted out, but she thought it was highly appropriate, considering the volitile and confused situation. She saw him raise a chestnut-coloured brow out her language, and appropriatly so, since she was well known as to have Wheelers' 'sweet' genes. 

Highly embarrassed beyond any more words, Serenity backed away, slowly, as if walking on eggs. Or more appropriately to his expression, thin ice. As if walking away from a ticking time bomb, expect it was his eyelid that was twitching. A mixed feeling of disappointment and shame clouded her vision for a moment, then it focused on a pair of sky blue eyes, the same hue and color as the sky behind him, narrowed, looking intently at her. She took it for anger, though in fact, he was curious.

_Seto Kaiba…..my brother's rival and enemy! I want to sink into the floor….. right now....._ ohhhh.... _Why can't this sand underneath us be bottomless quicksand so the ground can swallow me up?!_ She pounded a fist, accidentally hitting him in the process in the shoulder.

_.....SEE?!_

To Be Continued Soon.

-

-

-

* * *

**A/n:** I don't know if this's been used or not. Please review ! - -;; 


	2. Day 2: Stupid Girl, Smart Girl

**A/n:** Hello. I've decided to go on with chapter two. I think chapter one was too short; I wasn't sure if this idea had already been done. I always did like stories of survival in wilderness, so bear with me. ) Anyway, this one will be longer. So enjoy and tell me afterwards what you think of it. )

**Day Two: Stupid girl, Smart girl**

-

-

-

"I am so sorry," Serenity said, apologizing for the millionth time. "I shouldn't have er, um…..cursed in front of you after you _did_ **scare** the wits out of me!" _Oops, now it sounds like I'm blaming him for my mistake! Even though he's so mean to my brother,so I've been told,no one deserves to have an 'obscenity' shouted in their face! _Serenity nervously bit her lip, studying his reaction.

"I didn't expect anything less than from a Wheeler," Seto commented with a sneer in his tone. But Serenity didn't appear to hear, she seemed too busy berating herself. Over and over. _Weird girl . . . seems a lot different from her brother. Then again, people are all the same. Crude and untutored, unlike me. And plus this girl . . . she seems really wimpy. How is she supposed live in wild escapes me. Worse than her boneheaded brother. But at least, she is decent enough to know when she did wrong. I'll give her some credit for that, because I'm a nice guy. _He got up and went away, leaving her there by the sea, still reprimanding herself.

Serenity, true to her name, stared at the lapping waves serenely, though in her mind, she was trying to figure things out alone. Like, where she was. Not how stupid her blunder had been. Like Joey always said, "_Look on the bright side of things, sis!"_

_Joey….where are you? Could you have left me? Here, by myself?_

"Maybe he's hurt," she thought aloud. "Lying in some ditch somewhere……the others! Where are my friends? Maybe they're on the island!"

"I doubt it. They're gone forever," Seto declared from the where he was, not far away. He had combed the island over earlier, and had found only her body. But Serenity didn't seem to hear, and she got up.

_Does she have a problem with her hearing?_ He thought murderously, not liking to be ignored for any reason. Especially when he made a fool of himself by talking to a Wheeler. He snorted and picked a piece of reed and put it between his teeth.

_Sis, sis…..can you hear me?_ Serenity followed her brother's imaginary voice, going into the deeper part of the island, where the woods and thickets were. "Joey!" she called, breaking into a run as the ground got unsteadier and branches lashed at her bare legs. _He's here somewhere….I know it!_

Seto watched her go. _Man, does that girl run,_ he thought. _She even has some grace . . . surprisingly!_ He watched her agilely leaping over fallen logs and bushes, trying to think. _Wait…..doesn't that place lead to the deep pool of water I saw earlier?_ "Hey stop!" he said, getting up with a huff and reluctantly following her, going at a lazy pace. "Watch where you're going, you imbecile!"

Serenity let her heart lead the way, and came to a brilliant waterfall, glistening from a twenty-three foot-high drop, maybe about fifty feet. _Wow, it's so beautiful,_ she thought, momentarily dazzled by the sheerness of it. The trees were even _higher_, their shade turned the pool a soft black. It looked bottomless.

"He just has to be here!" she thought, stepping forwardly gingerly, so not to fall. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shirt and yanked her back, roughly. "Eh?" she yelped in confusion.

"Are you crazy?! One more step and you'll fall, you idiot!" Seto shouted at her, confusing her for a moment. She'd forgotten he was there. All the mattered was her brother. Abruptly, he let go. "Never mind, what am I saying? Go ahead, and you'll see."

"I-I will?" Serenity mumbled absently, peering down. It did seem too high to jump. "I was….just looking for my brother and the others, you see." She tried to explain for her behavior, forgetting her manners.

"Weren't you paying attention? I already checked this idea over!"

"I-island?" Her forest green eyes rounded into plates. "Not . . . mainland?" _We're stranded?_ Wha?

"Yes." He sighed, then he turned and left before she could find out more. Som Serenity got up and followed him, thinking first. Even though she had just met this guy, it was obviously from his clipped tone he didn't like to talk to her.

_But now, we have to work together, or we will never get off this island and get back home!_ She thought hard as he led her to the ruins of the once magnificent sailboat. Serenity felt her mouth dry up and she clapped a hand over it in horror at the sight . . .It was really awful; the stern was hanging in a right angle, and the whole front was torn off. Splinters of wood stuck up every which way in the air, and it was waterlogged through the big hole on the side. "It's . . . never going to float again," she murmured to herself. _The worst part is, it's so empty like only a memory._

"Yes it will," he said through clenched teeth, mostly to himself, going over and hauling the boat further into shore. "After I fix it." he added, with such a determined look, that she almost believed him. Almost.

_How is he supposed to fix this humongous thing?_ She didn't want to ask, it might insult his intelligence instinctively. _Speaking of which, he is supposed to be very smart, so maybe he can! Doesn't he fix computers? Well, fixing a boat is sort of like it, I guess . . . _

They spent the rest of the afternoon hauling waterlogged items out of it. Serenity felt her eyes prickle at the sight of her brother's torn-emerald green jacket, limp and lifeless. She clutched the freezing, wet material against her chest, hugging it protectively, as if it were Joey himself. "Well, at least it isn't him," she murmured aloud to herself. "Then again, am I happy or sad? Yes, I am happy because it's better than finding his . . .limp body in there . . . " She folded the jacket up carefully. "But I miss him so . . . and I'm worried to death….."

Seto was half listening to her mumbles as he picked through his items. _Weird girl . . . always talks to herself. Then again, so do I . . . what, am I comparing myself to a Wheeler, now?!_ Angry for thinking this thought, he snapped, "Quit whining about the others! They're dead, they're gone, so just get over it, already!"

Serenity stood stock still for a moment, looking and feeling stricken. Then, she turned swiftly, got up, and ran away, sand kicking up behind her angrily.

_Humph, whatever_, he thought, continuing to look over the items for necessary tools to be used for survival. _That girl is sure as disillusioned as her brother. Besides which, it's not like she isthe only one worrying. I have a brother, too . . . but you don't see me whining and complaining! Worrying only makes things worse!_

_Let's see, I know there was a survival kit on the boat and it's waterproof,_ he rifled around_, but it's not here! Stupid girl_, he thought while continuing his search. _She seemed smarter than Joey the Loser, but let's just see if see makes it out there by herself! Especially the way she was dressed: in a top and short and no shoes. She'll be begging to return to me! To my campsite, I mean. Wait a minute._

_Wasn't she carrying a small….plastic box when she ran off?_ He closed his eyes, thinking back on a mental picture. _The survival kit!!_

She'd had it under her arm. _Great, now I have to find her……_ He glanced up, but she was already out of sight. And the island wasn't tiny. _Smart girl,_ he admitted. _I bet she knew what she was taking…… knowing full well that I can't survive without the matches she took in the kit. Smarter than me, though? _He wiped his hands free of grain, taking stock. _I don't think so._

He got up and put on an old zippered front jacket, then lazily following her footprints, soft mounds on the sand, confident he would find her in the darkness.

To Be Continued . . .

-

-

-

* * *

**a/n:** Right now, it all just background, and the setting of personalities. Serenity as a sweet, but a naive daydreamer who just loves to fantasize. And Seto's just his usual, grumpy self. Anyway, write and review if you want some more of this fic!

-AllDay


	3. Day 3: The Wolf and the Lamb

**A/n:** Hello all. I'm sort of getting excited about this fic. All these good ideas popped in my head! So round and shiny…….uh, anyway, like I said, I do like stories about survival in the wilderness. So if I rant about it too much, that's why. 

**_Disclaimer:_** did I do this for the previous chapters? If not, then….this counts!_ I don't own YuGiOh )_

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Chapter 3: A Wolf and A Lamb **

Following her footprints, it didn't take long for Seto to find his . . . . 'prey.' Serenity was at the foot of a long tree, her face was buried in her knees, sobbing in misery. He could empathize with misery, who would want to be left all alone in the wilderness? Well, he wasn't alone, but that wasn't the point. Still, he hesitated while demanding the kit back, something he never did before.

_She ought to be grateful._

"Go 'way," he heard her mumble, her tone laced with desperateness. Desperate for him to go away and leave her to die._ I don't want to be stuck here with this horrible…..man, for that's what he is. So cruel and mean, telling me that myeveryone was dead! Why doesn't he keep his stupid thoughts to his negative old self? I want to be back home, in my nice comfy bed, not in the dirt of this horrible place. I wish I could yell at him, say 'you're a horrible mean old man, and, and….you act like you're 67!--yeah, yeah!-- a cynical, old 67 year old in a seventeen year old's body . . .' _Slowly she raised her head, thinking it had been a long silence, and half expecting him to have gone and went. He hadn't; she nearly jumped in fright and surprise at the eerie way he was staring down. Sort of like when someone stares at an exhibit they can't quite figure out.

_Probably thinking, 'What a naïve, stupid child who's a crybaby to boot.'_

Actually, in fact, that _was_ what he was thinking, along those terms. "Give me that kit you stole," he said tonelessly and emotionlessly, his voice deep and masculine, no-nonsense sounding, like her father's. _No shit._

When she immediately threw it at him, he added simply, "Trying to be smart, eh?" He picked it up and sauntered away. At a few paces away, he stopped. "There will be cooked rabbit, if you're hungry by the shore." At another few paces, he went on, "Alright, you can stay there, but watch out for snakes." Then he was gone.

"S-snakes?" He heard a soft whimper wafted from the woods, he smirked and continued on his way. In a while, he heard soft footsteps behind him, and knew it was The Sister, though he turned just to make sure. _That's what I'll call her, 'The Sister.'_ After all, this was wild territory, it could've been a wild boar he'd seen earlier when he scouted the island, but it wasn't. The island did looked to be uncharted, but judging from his calculations, they couldn't be that far off shore. Most likely, they were in one of Japan's offshore, many tiny uncharted islands, no doubt. And if the others hadn't died, they were probably searching withrescue squads scouring the area for them. But he knew better than to rely on someone else.

Serenity continued to follow his tall, brunette head, grateful for it, because it allowed her to follow at a safe distance. She planned to wait until he was asleep -- surely he wouldn't eat much since he didn't like to -- then grab a bite to eat. The reasons for this was very good: One, he would probably depress her with his negativity again and Two: She probably looked like the night of the living dead. Earlier, her friend Mai and her friend Tea, had given her a makeover for Seto's birthday party on the boat, and put lots of black mascara on her, which was probably smeared now, especially after she'd cried babyishly. But she was hungry, and though cooking a poor, innocentlittle rabbit, that made her thin of The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland,made her sick, she knew such had to attempt to survive, for her brother's sake. _And mine._

Seto came to the place by the broken boat, studying the shore. It was getting so dark, he had to start the fire soon. Along the way, he had picked up some kindling, and made mental notes to store some in case it rained so it wouldn't get wet. _Too bad I don't have some lighter fluid….._he thought as he tried to start the fire, but the wind kept blowing it out. It was hopeless, and it was getting so dark he could barely see, and he was cursing, under his breath at first, then louder.

Finally Serenity couldn't stand it. Wiping her face off with the hem off her sleeveless shirt, she approached to help. her slender body was clearly visible at her exposed midriff, until she let go and the shirt settled back. "Here, I'll keep block the wind . . . try it again."

"_No! . . . _we only have five matches left," he muttered, looking away. "We can't waste them . . . _dammit_! If we only had . . .some _lighter fluid,_ but we don't . . . "

His eye fell on the shattered remains of the boat, just as she said, "What about . . . gasoline . . . ?"

"Perfect!" _Well, sort of. _It was sure to make the food taste funny, but it was better than starving to death. He strode over, while she watched, then Serenity saw the poor, squirming rabbit, it's haunches tied together, in the sand. Her heart went out to the poor, terrified creature, with death only imminent. _I thought he killed it already! Probably wants to kill it in front of me, for his own barbaric pleasure. _Her fingers itched to release it from its binds. _If I do, Kaiba'll be angry . . . and I really don't want to experience his wrath of terror. _

_Still . . . the poor little bunny! I can't eat it . . ._Especially now when it was looking up at her with huge, wet eyes, pleading for mercy. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. _I'll free it, then head for the hills with the survival kit of course!_ Her hand inched closer towards the animal.

"Don't. Even. _Think_. About. It." Seto snapped.

Serenity nearly jumped out of her skin, caught. The tone of voice was so icy, she actually felt her stomach freeze up, inside of her. She swallowed once, then tried her best to look innocent and helpless. "I-I wasn't . . . going to do anything . . . !"

"Yeah, right." He set down the tank of gasoline, and pouring only some on the kindling. "Like you _really_ weren't going to set the hare free." His voice dripped with contempt. "Sentiment makes me retch!" he muttered, striking a match and throwing it, the whole kindling burst into flames.

She didn't know what to say, so she kept silent. Her eyes darted back to the creature, who now was wriggling frantically, looking more and more like Thumper from Bambi to her. _I can't watch!_ She shut her eyes tightly., wishing she could set it free.

. . . but Kaiba was bigger and stronger than her. And she was all alone with him. He could do anything he wished anyhting at all, and no one could hear her screams…..!

Seto saw her, backing away from him wide-eyed, actually, it was more like scuttling, and wondered what was **now** going through her mind this time. _This daydreamer female seems to be with her head in the clouds all the time!_ he thought with an eye-roll.

_Whatever! This hare's my dinner, and no one's going to stop me! As if anybody could._ He took up a long stick, and stuck it between the limbs of the animal, so it was like a pig on a spit, then set one end on a longY-shaped stick, stuck in the sand. Serenity let a horrified, choked gasp when she realized he planned to 'rotisserie' the bunny, a.k.a., cook it _alive._

The creature squirmed and whimpered, sending daggers piercing through her heart. " You're cruel!" she blurted without thinking. Not that she didn't mean it, but they he slowly lifted his eyes to glare, she wished she'd bitten her tongue. "At least . . . kill it first!" she insisted, clutching her chest. "Don't make it _suffer_!"

"I would," he answered calmly, "but I don't have any knife. Oh, wait . . . here's one." He plunged the pocket knife into it with a sickening crunch, and she screamedoutloudin anguish, "Oh, cut the theatrics," he snapped irritably, set it over the fire and started turning it slowly.

He knew it was mean, and she'd probably burst into tears, but he couldn't help adding, "If you open your eyes, you can hear it's death cries. _Yum_." For the second time, she jumped to her feet, sand kicking up, to go and retch. _What?_ "Hmm, I guess she's not interested." He thought aloud, alone in the dark,with a first real smile. In a long time, it sort of hurt his face. Musing, he heard the _kkht kkht_ of static….

..from the _radio_….

The transmitter had been broken in the storm, or so he had thought! Grabbing it, he tried to radio for help. They took note, but since he didn't know which island, they would have to continue searching. Now, in much better mood, he decided to share this good news with her.

A little pang of guilt at the way he'd purposely scared her wove through, and he scowled, fiercely. _Stupid female……_Seto picked up the discarded 'bunny' and continued his roasting. _Girls…..so sickeningly soft-hearted. What, she never ate a burger before? Is she a vegetarian? Burgers come from cows. Cows are animals. So are chickens. And pigs. Her brother is one. Why am I thinking of such inane thoughts? I must be happy. _

_Hm. How odd._

He turned his head to the right suddenly, hearing a sound. Taking a bite, Seto realized she was singing. _Well, at least she didn't get eaten by a wild boar . . . I'll save some rabbit for her. I feel charitable._ He ate his fill, wincing at the taste of gasoline. He was, of course, used to much finer things, like caviar and fine wine, _but if I have to, I will survive on this!_ The will to survive was burning strong in him, and Seto found himself wondering if his brother was all right. He'd forgotten to ask.

_I'm sure he is . . . _he tried to comfort himself as he studied the sky. It was cloudless, with no moon. _I'll leave the fire burning . . . I'm usually a light sleeper, so . . ._Flies were started to buzz around the carcass, so he covered it with a piece of wet clothing, and put everything away neatly. Then he threw a cap over his head (it wasn't his, but oh well) and went to sleep, the song weaving around his subconscious.

A few hours later, Serenity crept back tothe littlecampsite, her footsteps muffled by the sand. She heard light snoring, and figured he was asleep. Finally! . . . her stomach felt like it was practically digesting itself, she was so hungry.She uncovered the meat, flinching as she ate. She really didn't want to eat, but her stomach held the food down, so she took another bite, and then another. _I'll have to rinse out my mouth a million times with water after this! _It tasted horrible! But her hunger didn't care, didn't matter. Finishing, she glanced at Seto's tall, sleeping form. _It was nice of **him** to leave some for me . . . I really expected he'd hog it all . . . Still, I bet he didn't brush his teeth after eating._ What a typical boy _Then again, there's probably no toothbrush . . . _Serenity went into a little fantasy about brushing his teeth while he slept, with a little dreamy smile.

"Must you make all that noise?" he growled, staring at her, wondering why she had a dreamy smile on. "Go to sleep, already!"

She realized with a start she was licking her fingers off, quite noisily and very unladylike by the way, and turned red. "Sorry! . . . " she said, doing it much quieter.

"By the way . . . " he added, looking away to the stars, "the radio said . . . that a search team should be here soon and they're continuing to look, for us."

She froze. "Really?! A-and…what about my brother? Did they say he was all right?!" In her eagerness, she planted her hands on the sand, leap-frog style, he saw how the lithe little body leaning forwards, dark, forest-green eyes fixed on him. "Well?" she prompted when he didn't answer right away.

"He's . . . all right." In truth, he hadn't asked, of course, but might as well tell her that, or _she'd go running off into the woods again and get eaten by a boa . . . _She seemed to have a habit of running. And as much as he would like her to disappear, it wouldn't do since rescue was coming.

"Oh! That's so great!" She wished she could hug someone, but only he was there, and she didn't dare or . . . So she hugged herself. "Did they---"

_"No."_

"Okay, okay." Looking around, Serenity made herself a 'nest' in the sand next to the grumpy guy, said her prayers heartily.The rabbit hadn't been very filling and her stomach grumbled.But fatigue sent her off to dreamland in seconds.

The temperature dropped at midnight. A woolly blanket dropped around her shoulders, and she smiled in her sleep, feeling warm and fuzzy. Seto shuffled back to his spot. _....who can sleep with all that shivering?_ he groused silently, slumping down.

TBC

-

-

-

* * *

**A/n**: It was sort of funny to imagine Serenity brushing Seto's teeth....lol. Anyway, review ) 


	4. Day 4: Starting a 'Fire'

**a/n:** Thanks for reviewing! They were great.

**Disclaimer:** _This authoress doesn't own YGO...._

**Chapter Four: Starting a Fire....**

-

-

-

Serenity was dreaming, that she was in a warm, comfortable bed, the sheets fresh smelling of Tide, cocooned _like a butterfly ready to burst of a chrysalis._ _Nice and snug, I'm so wonderfully tired . . . _

And then she opened her eyes.

"Kachew!" she sneezed, as sand went up her nose. Sniffing, she lifted her head and spotted a seagull, pecking along the wet, gleaming shore. _Which seemed awfully close. . ._

"Ahh!" she scrambled to her feet, just in time before the icy cold water rose on her . . . _Why can't it be my brother waking me up to go to school instead of some nasty bird? _There was a horrible taste in her mouth, she went off to rinse it out in the pool. Maybe it was contaminated water, but she didn't care about that right then. Wetting her face, she sighed miserably and looked about. Kaiba was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe we got off onto the wrong foot . . . er, wrong blanket . . . She fingered the blanket about her shoulders, absently thinking. Her first impression of the Kaiba guy was what she'd read in an magazine article, about his company's advancements in gaming technology. _It had been very impressive and fascinating, since I want to learn how to play duel monsters like my brother._

She fingered the blanket about her shoulders, absently thinking. Her first impression of the Kaiba guy was what she'd read in an magazine article, about his company's advancements in gaming technology. 

But at his surprise party when she'd met him in person, he seemed like a very stressed-out guy, one that grumpily suffered from a constant headache.

Then again, maybe he justdidn't like surprise birthday parties.

_Still,_ she thought, getting to her feet again, shivering in the cold morning air_, he had taken us all out on one of his boats, more like a yacht, and . . . _Serenity surveyed the damage. _Now, it's reduced to scraps._

Turning slightly to the right, she saw him, sitting in a short jacket that worn with constant washings, with pants that ended at mid-calf. He had been scouring the horizon for any sign of a rescue boat, and become irritable at each ticking minute, when none appeared. (He _knew _that mainland was _that_ way.)

"He might as well be wearing a sign that says, 'Don't Bug Me, " Serenity whispered under her breath, going back into the woodsy part of the island. " 'You got it, pal….'.that what Joey always says….." She still had hope, seeing a few berry bushes in the woods full of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries yesterday afternoon. _I'll pick some berries for our breakfast…… _She set about doing her work.

It was cloudy but calm, the light gray sky fading into sparkling, turquoise sea. Seto stared at the pale gray horizon, as if staring would make a rescue boat appear_. I'm starting to think my boat is far beyond repair……it's motor is shot…_… Oars could be used, but that was like going down a steep hill in a wagon with a cliff waiting at the end.

_The sea was unpredictable....._

What am I going to do now? The truth was, he wasn't much of an outdoorsy man. He didn't know jack about surviving in the wild. He'd never been camping, not even once. Okay, there was that one time as a orphan child, but he had hated it. Survival instincts were being worn down by it's enemy, despair. Plus…… he had the Wheeler-girl to look after. _More responsibility….._but he didn't mind that as much. _She's suffered enough. Being related to THAT family. Poor thing._

The truth was, he wasn't much of an outdoorsy man. He didn't know jack about surviving in the wild. He'd never been camping, not even once. Okay, there was that one time as a orphan child, but he had hated it. Survival instincts were being worn down by it's enemy, despair. Plus…… he had the Wheeler-girl to look after. but he didn't mind that as much. 

........Restless, he suddenly went to survey the wreckage again._ There has to be a way to get back to mainland by myself….. _The crumpled boat had big split on the left side, but it _could _still float_….if it were made more lighter…. _

_I could saw off the top and leave it here…that would make it light enough, he thought. But I don't have a saw…..or any other tools on me. All I have is a screwdriver that rusted in the rain…._Taking it, he started to unscrew the metal bolts that held the heavy roof down. From the woods, Serenity heard the loud, creaky sound of bending metal, and figured he was working, so best not to bug him.

She'd found a little granite cave, more like a burrow, since it was so tiny. Still, it'd be good protection from the thunderstorms, which it looked like today, according to the grey sky.

It was a tight fit, but more than enough room for her to eat her berry breakfast. _It is 'berry' good...._she thought with a smile, popping some in her mouth, then nearly spitting it out. They were unripe and sour-tasting, but her stomach grumbled loudly every time she gagged, and she forced them down, to stay._I will survive this! I'll be home soon. Ah, home…. It danced in her head like visions of sugarplums. I'm SO going to kiss my bed the instant I arrive! _The sand had been soft, but now there was a terrible crick in her neck from sleeping at an angle. She could tell by the way that Seto had moved, he was feeling it the same._ Hm….maybe I can make a hammock out of this blanket….at least that'd be more comfortable….-er. _

_I'll make one for him too….maybe that'll cheer him up....._Looking about, she saw two tall trees within a short distance of each other_. Hm, that's one….._ she managed to successfully tie each end of the blanket, cinching it tight. The woolly texture held fast, she cautiously gave the hammock a try.

It worked! And much more comfortable, too.

Now to make one for him….or maybe I oughta let him make his own?

Probably yeah….her stomachrumbled like a sliding door being rolled open. _Time to pick berries for food again….._ Yum, yum.She gave her fingers a study, they'd been poked with so thorns, she was starting to see through them! _Sigh....._

her stomachrumbled like a sliding door being rolled open. Yum, yum.She gave her fingers a study, they'd been poked with so thorns, she was starting to see through them! 

It was around mid afternoon, the sun disappeared behind the clouds. Studying the sky with sky-blue eyes, Seto saw flashes of lightning, as they traveled from black clouds to dark grey clouds. He'd been working since early morning, hadn't eaten a bite. The air was still, though, and the sea calm._Wait for the wind….._

_A sail! I could use the wind to get back home….. but there's no light cloth materiel to make one with…._Musing and distracted, he didn't see the small boat that appeared on the distance….. 

"There seems to be a wreckage there, captain!" said one man in a lifejacket, squinting through a telescope since the cloud made it quite dark. "But I don't….see any signs of life….."

The wind howled suddenly, the little boat was tossed and turned, viciously, between choppy, high waves. The captain quickly made a mark on the seachart. " It's too far to dock; turn back;!" he ordered, as the crew struggled to keep the boat from capsizing over, over the shouts. "Aye aye, captain!" said the crewmen. "We'll send a supply package at these coordinates just in case," confirmed the captain as the boat disappeared.

But not before Seto saw it. "HEY! Where're you going?!" he hollered over the wind. "Come back!" But his voice was swallowed up. "Come back!"

_Meanwhile..._

Serenity quickly gathered up dry kindling to the cave, before it got wet and therefore made unusable. She wondered where Seto was, and why he was screeching. _I hope he makes it back here before the rains…oh yeah, he doesn't know where it is_! She stuffed the wood to the very furthest corner of the cave, and was turning when something hit her on the head. Something heavy.….ouch.

She dropped to the mossy ground like a beanbag.

"Are you all right!" Seto yelled to be heard over the now howling wind.They were in the cave she found; the supply package had dropped on her head; he figured that out since it had been laying nearby.

"Peachy…..What ,,,, you yelling about….?" Serenity rubbed her head, and felt the crusty feel of a thick bandage. " Ow…."

Seto saw the stored, dry kindling at the back of the cave, and sighed in utter relief. _She must've done it......maybe she's half as stupid like her brother , that's very good_. He sat down and tore off the brown paper covering the package. There was instant food, clothing, fresh soap, among other things. "Well, at least it's something….." he grumbled, jaw twitching in disappointment. _Now another night here......_

" …..DId that hit…..me….?" Serenity was still having double vision, "Boy, it was heavy …….,"

He shot her a peculiar look, then inched away, though it was pretty cramped space, (he only succeeded in brushing her leg) and frowned, holding a red signaling flare, now the same color as her face. "Yes........but the note said to shoot up this flare if we were…..who we are and….. since we didn't, ….." _There's no way they'll be back…._He didn't even want to say it. _Best not to frighten her……._

He didn't even want to say it. 

" We'll be stuck here forever!" Serenity started to giggle, and weep at the same time. A loud hiccup escaped her and she covered her mouth, wide eyed, seeing she was weirding him out. Awkwardly, self-consciously, she folded herself up in a ball in the dusty floor, and turned her back turned towards him and took a nap, nursing her throbbing head. _She must hit her head pretty darn hard…..greaat. Either that or she's a natural loony bin...._ Finally, he shook his head and started reading the directions of the instant food package, since there was no time to hunt. _'Just add water'….._The rain clak clattered down. _Well, there's plenty of that!_ He set out a small tin bowl out to catch the rain.

Instantly, the downpour stopped immediately. Aargh!" he shouted at the clouds, holding up white knuckled fists, cursing loudly.

It was still dark outside, and Serenity wondered what was he cursing about this time. He was really going at it. "What's wrong, now?" She was still nursing her poor head. He looked really frustrated.

Just then, the rain started again, but not as heavily. With a relieved sigh, he buried some kindling, and took the rest in a small pile to light, he struck a match to the note, then quickly set it on the kindling. It caught, to his surprise (since there was no fluid this time), and he blew at it, fanning the flames with the brown paper wrappings, which he'd save for next time.

"Hey…… Weirdo Sister Girl. Hand me that bowl…" he said. Taking it, he set the wire metal setup that had come in the supply package so it was hovering over the flames. Immediately, the water started to bubble.

" but….m-my name's not…..W-weird Sister Girl.' " Serenity muttered, half to herself, taking a sitting up position as close to the fire as possible, to keep warm. _How can someone look so grumpy by starting starting a fire?_ The rain had slowed to a trickle outside, but she was still in a sleeveless shirt and Capri pants of flimsy material she wore to the party. She was shaking, wishing for a blanket and now she had a headache.

"Oh, I'm sorry. 'Mutt's sister girl,' then," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. She narrowed her eyes slightly, but he didn't care and openly ignored her, stirring the stew.

"It's not a mutt's sister either!…..and don't roll your eyes at me-- !--it's 'Serenity,' " she added grouchily, " Can you say, 'Suh-ren-nuh-tee?' "

Her sarcasm took him aback, but he didn't show it. "Whatever," he said with a false courteous smile, handing her a plate. She took it eagerly and started wolfing it down, for once not caring how she looked; she was darned hungry! _Besides, only he was here….._

Feeling better after the meal, she sat back again with a sigh. Ramen noodles always hit the spot! _Ahhh....._ Her stomack grumbling happy little grumbles, now, she sort of felt a little guilty for being sarcastic earlier, but she got hit on the head and then nearly died of starvation! And cold! She had the right to be grumpy!

_Still, speaking of cold, _she thought. "Hey, um….." She hesitated, not sure what to call him; 'Kaiba' sounded too ….._melancholy_, and she didn't think he'd like being called by his first name, "….you….." He shot her a look, and she paused, stuttering, "t-thanks for the blanket last night. And the dinner now…."

"And the one before that….."

"Yes and the one before that….though that poor little rabbit such didn't like it," she murmured, looking away. She was a vegeterian. At least, _had _been.....

"And for saving your life," he ticked off a finger, "when I drew you out of the water…"

"You did? I thought I just washed up on shore," she said with a start, wide eyed.

"Think I lie?" he said, putting away his plate, teeth baring.

"No." She said, honest, and there was a short pause. "By the way, how….did you make it here? I mean, to this island......." 

"Hmph……. When the tornado hit, I was thrown into the water and had to swim for the nearest land." _The same length as those cowardly rescue from early this morning!_ He thought with contempt. "Then I caught up with the boat, and brought it over with me."

She looked skeptical, "I believe you!" she said, thinking she'd offended him. What a weirdo!

"Good for you. Stay put this time " He got up anyway, to take a look outside and work some more on the boat. It must've took a beating after that storm. She watched him leave, then took up the package again. _Maybe there's some aspirin in here……boy, do I need some. _There wasn't, but there was a cheap looking radio with a single earpiece. _Maybe we can get weather information, _she thought, fixing the headphone on her ear. _But for now…._

Setting up a new hammock and setting the wet one to dry, she climbed in and stared at the full moon rising in the sky, beneath the palms. It looked like a giant orb in a velvet blue night sky, very bright. A cool breeze caressed her sticky, sweaty skin, like a wave of loneliness, and she flicked her radio on to soothe her pounding headache.

I wish I were a seagull, _So I could fly back home...….._

She watched them fly into the night, crowing in pure delight of being airborne, towards the pearly moon. 

_Everytime I fly, I fall, without my wings…… I feel so small, guess I need you…._She didn't have time to finish the song, she drifted off into darkness, head dropping to the side again. _Joey….._

Meanwhile, back at Domino City...

"Whatta ya mean you're calling OFF da SEARCH? DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY MA IS GOING TO DO TO ME?!?!?!" Joey Wheeler shook the captain, half his size, hard.

The disgruntled captain said sorry again, and shooting him a dirty look, left, fixing his uniform. He didn't tell him that supplies were sent.

"Calm down," Yugi comforted his worried best friend. "Joey, you heard what he said, and you'll better get some rest. You look like you're going to fall over…." The others agreed. They've barely made it back, and hadn't seen a doctor yet.

"Naw, I'm going to go and search for her," Joey disagreed, pacing around like a panther who hasn't been fed. "I gotta go. Whose coming with me?" Everyone shifted around uneasily. They'd been searching all day also; only Kaiba and Serenity were reported missing. Fortunately no one was severely hurt. "Fine, whateva, but I'm goin'." With that, Joey headed for Domino Pier......

* * *

**A/n:** well, Review and tell me. 


	5. Day 5: Meant to Live

**A/N:** Hi, readers. Welcome to another episode of Being Marooned. BTW, the 'marooned' in the title is sort of a pun, with double meaning, since 'maroon' means to be stranded somewhere and also the color red, which in case, of embarrassment. Just an FYI for you…….if you didn't already know. 

**Disclaimer:** AllDay, which is me, does not own Yu-gi-oh™

* * *

**Day Five: Meant to Live **

Seto was very distressed. Last night storm had completely damaged all of his work on repairing the boat, making it even worse. _Dammit, how am I supposed to hide this . . ._ wreckage _from the weather?!_ Sitting down with a plop on the sand, he put his head in his hands and cradled it.

He didn't know how long he was sitting there, doing the one thing he'd sworn never to do: _Feel sorry for myself._ But it had been five days and no sign of being rescued. No sign of whether his own brother was alright . . . or whether he was even alive.

Still as a statue, he heard light, soft music wafting through the trees. Somehow, even though he knew it was from the girl, the Sister, he felt a bit better. W_hy am I feeling better? It's just some music._ But it made him realize that it wasn't over until it _was_ over. As long as he had breath in his lungs and the willpower to live, they hadn't gotten the best of him. Yet.

Lugging the wreckage so it would be protected by the trees made him feel tired, his muscles all achy. Jaw screwed tightly shut, he remembered there was extra clothing in the supply package--_even though the Wal-mart clothing was for a dork, not my taste at all-_--as well as a bar of soap. He hadn't taken a bath in five days, and his scalp itched, and he generally felt dirty all over.

_Now I know what common folk like 'Suh ren nuh tee' feels all the time……_He spotted Serenity, lying in some kind of hammock made between two trees, apparently asleep._ Very nice idea_, he thought, crossing over the shrubbery. _Until one of the trees gets hit by lightning! _

_And she didn't listen when I told her to stay put for once. No surprise there; girls never listen. _He crept over softly, and studied her eyes, which were firmly shut. Her head was tilted to one side, long auburn hair spilling over one pale shoulder. _Even though she's Wheeler's sister, she sure doesn't look like it! What am I thinking? She's probably only twelve . . ._ Going away, he grabbed the soap and change of clothing, undressed, and walked into the small pool of water to bathe.

The next morning, Serenity woke up in her hammock, which had thankfully stayed up during the night. The sun said mid afternoon, not morning, and she sat up and rubbed her itchy. tiredeyes slowly. Another night here in tropical paradise, she thought dully. Her ears told her that Seto was working, probably making more repairs on their boat, and not to bother him…..

_Oh, well. Might as well see if he needs any help._

Placing her feet on the soft sand, Serenity made a mental note to bathe herself soon. Though she felt kind of anxious to do so---especially since only he was here---she told herself that surely he would respect her privacy. He didn't seem like the type to lunge at girls, like many of her brother's friends…..no, he was a rare type.

Instead of the beach, though, he was nearly a large boulder, more like a cliff; the torn boat propped up against it. With no shirt….._him_, she meant, not the boat.

Instantly, Serenity was reminded of her dream. _In it....I remember that he was……taking a bath……in the pond! Which looks like the one next to our cave…… It was so vivid……_Stunned for a second, she just stood there gawking, until he felt eyes on him and half turned around. Blushing red, she dashed off into the woods in embarrassment. "Humph. Good morning to you too," he muttered sarcastically under his breath, continiung to work..

_Was that a dream.....? Of course it was!!_ Serenity walked back, thinking about it, the waves lapping at the shore. Suddenly, she spotted a bottle, greenish in color, and picked it up to study it. A soda company she didn't recognize was written on the label, and it had a screw-on top. _Hey…..I got it!_

Excitedly, she went back to the granite cave, and tore off a piece of brown paper wrapping. There was no pen or pencil, so she picked up a charred twig from last night's dinner and wrote with the blackened tip: _Joey, I am all right. So is Kaiba. He is with me on a remote island. It's now been…..five days. Don't worry, I'll find a way to get back home. Love, your sis._

She unscrewed the plastic top, then stuffed in the note. The top should make it unsinkable and water tight, she thought. _And now for a little faith……_kissing message in the bottle for luck, she threw it as hard as she could in the swirling sea.

Seto watched as Serenity threw the bottle. _Fat chance it getting to somebody,_ he thought cynically. He'd long ago not relied on hope and faith. Putting on a clean shirt, he felt a lot better as the material covered his tanned skin. _Silly girl...but I'd better not tell her it won't reach anybody. Let her live in her silly fantasies…. _"Hey. Girl!"

Serenity was so intent in her task, she forgot he'd called her 'girl' and not by her name. "Oh! Good morning!" she said sunnily.

"Yeah, whatever." He answered grumpily, glaring in the sun.. "It's your turn to cook, so hop to it ALREADY!"

"Sure," she practically chirped, then ran off. _Boy, is she swift,_ he thought, staring. _And rather agile....._He was so busy staring, that a sudden wave of water wetted his feet up to the ankle. He gasped, not only because it was so cold, but…of a sudden, sharp sting......

_Dammit, a jellyfish….._

_Afternoon..._

Serenity heard the thunder again and she remembered the radio had said something about a tiny storm. _This must be it,_ she thought. _I'd better go and inform him._ Running back, she saw him coming towards her, limp noticeably. "Oh, my God! What happened?" she cried.

"... jellyfish…" He muttered so low between tight lips. "Get me a bandage or something! I saw one in the---"

Serenity held one out already, and he was shocked, then snatched it, sitting down on the small boulder. Wrapping it carefully around his foot, he winced as the poison started to take effect and he started to feel nauseous..

"Here….there was antiseptic too…" she shook up the can, and he snatched it too, and read the label to make sure. _With her absentmindedness, she'll probably hand me rubbing alcohol! Hey that wouldn't be a bad idea….I can't risk any infection!_

Without preamble, he tore off a small square from his shirt and dipped it in alcohol. Then pressed it to his bare foot.

Serenity didn't know what to do; she had never saw anyone in so much pain. A light rain began to fall, wetting them both, but he still held the cloth firmly to his wound, even though his eyes bulged in pain. The poison from the sting was taking effect and his vision swam. He got up and staggered towards the cave, allowing her to help him, since his limbs felt so rubbery. But he didn't make a sound, not even a whimper. Mostly she was doing the whimpering _for_ him.

"Oh my god! Why did you do that! That must really hurt!" On and on until he felt like turning to her and telling to shut up already, but then his world faded into blackness.

_Later..._

It wasn't until the next morning, so early the sun peeked through the horizon, that he finally regained consciousness. With a start, he sat up, a pad of damp cloth falling from his forehead. The first thing he saw was Serenity, lying a few feet away in the dirt, her legs and arms badly scratched up from coming back and forth from the pool to dip cloths for his raging fever. Seto quickly checked his wound; it still hurt like anything, but no signs of infection. _Phew…_

"Get up," he said to her, but she didn't move. At first, he thought maybe she knocked herself unconscious again, but he saw her shoulders move with breath. He got up. _I have to go and work on our boat today, or we'll be stuck here forever!_ "Come on, get up," he said impatiently.

She stirred and yawned, blinking her long lashes confusedly. "Wha---Oh, you're all right! I'm so relieved."

"I'm…..sort of okay," he replied gruffly._ Considering....._ "Are you?" He gestured towards her scratches from the thorns.

"Oh! I didn't even notice those….I was so afraid you'd die….and be left all alone….." she promptly blushed at the implication and ducked her head as he handed her the antiseptic can and Serenity slowly took it.

Seto held it for a moment before realizing. "Thanks…..for all your help." he said gruffly.

_Even his 'thanks' sounds sarcastic_, she thought, but she could tell he was sincere, by the way he wouldn't look at her. She waited until their eyes met. "You're…..welcome."

He paused, still staring, just to let her know that he was still the boss around here. Her face was all smudged and dirty, her hair wet and stringy from the rain. _Still, there was something……amusing about her, something intriguing._ "I should……get back to work." he said finally.

"Yeah….." but neither moved. Finally, he stood hastily, too much, because he staggered a bit. "Wait! I mean, maybe you oughtn't go…..I mean, because of your injured foot," she explained.

"Then, are _you_ going to go work on the boat, then?" he asked sarcastically, then gave a short bark of laughter when she nodded in agreement. "Puh-lease! We don't need any more accidents, and you're so clumsy!"

"I--" Her eyes were blazing, and she stood up too, but nowhere near his impressive height. The words stuck in her throat and he patiently waited. "Am…..not!" _Who was the one who got stung?_ But he was looking so intimidating and daunting, that the words stuck. "W-well.....at least….._eat _something!" She gestured to the food. "I was up all night making this….."

Grumbling, he sat back down relucantly. He was hungry, anyway, hadn't eaten anything all day yesterday. And it showed. _She made enough for an army!_ he thought dryly._ Thaaaaat's right. Waste all of our food! We have plenty!_ But he had to admit, as he wolfed it down, it was pretty good.

She ate a bit, too, since she'd hadn't eaten much. Still, she only picked at it, she wasn't feeling so hungry. He noticed and swallowed before speaking. "What are you doing, except for turning red as a beet? Eat already!" He bellowed crankily.

Serenity ducked her head. "I was just thinking…..of a dream I had last night….Er, the night before this one……whatever." _That's reminds me. _"I'm going to take a bath today, so if you don't mind…..er, staying by the beach….."

Something about what she'd just said didn't sit right. "What kind of a dream?"

"Oh," she squirmed, "Nothing!"

He followed her eyes, which were straying towards the pond and it hit him _She's blushing like crazy!_ "It didn't have something to do with _me_ taking a. . . bath, did it?" _Oh please god no, that'd be so humiliating......_

Her eyes widened into saucers. "How did you know--?"

"Because I did!" Throwing down his bowl, he got up and left disgustedly. _Spying on me! just as disgusting as her----_He was so angry, he could barely think. "It wasn't a dream!!!"

Meanwhile, Serenity stared in shock at the dicarded bowl. "It was too a dream!……" And then, "Wasn't it…..?"

TBC

* * *

**A/n:** Tee hee. Suuuure it was. Suuuure. Lol. Well, tune in next time. Only if you Review! 


	6. Day Six: Hurricane Kaiba

%Day Six: Surviving Hurricane Kaiba %

Joey Wheeler was very upset. His sister had been missing for five days now, and his mom was to be home soon from visiting relatives, any MINUTE! He had gotten sick from looking for all night, as well as in trouble for stealing a boat to search. I haveta keep da faith and believe she's all right, he thought. _Though I wish there were SOME sign……_

Clunk. A bottle hit against the dock of the pier he was on. A strange greenish bottle…… That 'clunk' didn't sound hollow….dere's somethin' inside! Intrigued, he picked it up.

A note! He mouthed the words aloud, brown eyes scanning back and forth. "Dear Joey…..I'm all right..' "

Then:

"SHE'S WHERE?! WITH WHO?"

%%%%%%

Serenity Wheeler was very afraid. Again. This time…..from another 'tornado'_….Hurricane Kaiba……_

Nervously, she sank into the cool pond water until only her eyes showed, and removed her clothes. The water was warm and wonderful, just the right temperature. Still, she couldn't even enjoy it.....because of the argument from previously that morning......

%Flashback%

"What are you so mad about?"

"You were SPYING ON ME!"

"I wasn't! I DIDN'T! It was just a dream, I tell you!" Serenity squeaked. He looked so angry, she was indeed afraid for her life. Again.

"IT WASN'T, you idiot! THINK ABOUT IT!"

"It WAS!"

"IT WASN'T!!!"

"WAS!"

"WASN'T!!

"Look, " she said, trying to quell her growing fear and be calm again, "Can't it be REMOTELY POSSIBLE that I had a dream AND you were actually taking the bath at THE SAME TIME?! Can't it be the least littlest bit POSSIBLE?!" _YOU THINK!!_

"The least littlest bit?" Seto donned a mock thinking face, silent for a minute. "Hmm……let me think……_NO!!!"_ With that, he stormed away, moving quite fast on his injured foot.

Serenity couldn't help letting a sigh of relief, but then he was back again, glaring at her with an intensity that would've made an iceberg feel cold. He rubbed one hand over his face, as if trying to decide exactly how to cook her alive. "It …..was…..a dream," she whispered, finally, her green eyes huge on her pale heart shaped face. _In her little fantasies, again,_ he thought.

A twinge or irritation hummed through him. "Okay……" he said, voice dangerously calm. "How. Much. Did. You…..SEE?!" he muttered at her.

She blinked. "What?"

"How." He said, pronouncing each word carefully, going up and octave with each one. "Much. Did. YOU. _SEE_?!"

"Uh….. I---" she stuttered, thinking he looked positively insane: his eyes were blazing with anger, and he clenched his fists as if he were going to sock her. "Didn't--"

He glared.

"--See--"

Still glaring.

"--Anything! At all!"

Silence. He looked very offended.

"Uh, w-wait, heh, t-that d-didn't come out right," Serenity said hastily, then let out an "Eep!" when he suddenly thrust his face right in front of hers, hands planted against the doorway of the cave. _Okay….he looks very VERY angry….very very angry…..._

A short silence, where nobody moved, except for a sea bird fluttering by, hastily. "What…..are you so angry about…?" she said in a tiny voice, eyes fixed on his. That's what she really wanted to know!

Even if it WASN'T a dream…..

……s-so? Maybe I should tell him he had a very nice---uh, butt...... I mean, body! Body! Yeah, that'll cheer him up…..

Human survival instincts told her not to, though, and keep her mouth shut. _If I want to live to see another day….._Distracted by the way a muscle twitching in his jaw, she nearly didn't hear his next order: "Take off your clothes."

Serenity nearly fell over. "What?!"

"See how _you_ like to be humiliated. Plus, that'll answer your question," he said in a perfectly calm voice, standing up again and crossing his arms. In contrast, there was a crazy glint in his sea blue eyes. "Well? I'm waiting."

"You're…..mad!" she exclaimed, scuttling away and hugging her chest protectively.

"You'll have to, soon….." He let the threat hand ominously in the air, like a guillotine's blade, as he turned and walked away.

%end flashback %

Maybe he IS just like all the other boys, Serenity thought, lower lip trembling in anger and fear. Since then, they weren't speaking, and it was nearly the end of the day. _Fine! He can have one half of the island, and I can have the other half....... if it comes to that! Perv…..!That's what he is!_

It's not like I SAW anything.....that I wasn't SUPPOSED to, I mean. He WAS underwater! She stopped and listened for a while, not hearing anything except the usual sounds of birds chirping and fluttering of wings and leaves. _It really is beautiful here…..but no time for that!_

She took the soap out. _No underwear….I'll have to wash out my own and reuse them, _she thought. _It'll feel so good to feel clean once again!_

Serenity listened again, then decided to take no chances. She hid the dry clothing, since having an image of Seto running off with them..... Giggling at the thought, she sobered when she realized she couldn't use the soap from underwater...

Now to soap up….hm, I'll have to get out to do this……Gulping, Serenity glanced this way and that, all senses alert.

It was quiet. _Too quiet._

Hurry up! Hastily hiding behind a large palm frond, she soaped up quickly, trying not to think of the fact that HE had used the same soap (soap _is_ self-washable, soap is self-washable) and dunked herself in again. There was no shampoo, so she had use the soap for her long locks.

Uh oh. I forgot a towel…..

Great. Now what am I to do?

She couldn't use the wet clothes, nor the dry clothes….and air drying was out of the question…..Serenity felt so on edge and so nervous, she actually let out a sob. _I guess I'll have to put on my dry clothes…._

Chiding herself, she tried to finger comb her hair, sitting on the edge of the pond. In the span of a week, it had become a tangled bird's nest, all matted and stringy on her head. "I guess it'll have to be cut…." _It was really badly tangled._ "Can't risk it being it caught on something, anyway!" she tried to be cheery about it.

A comb plopped beside her in the cave. Looking up, she saw he had crept into the cave, silently. "You're looking a lot better," he muttered, bringing in the catch of the day: a long fish. There had been a fire started in the cave when she'd gotten there, and she was thankful for it. Catching a cold were the last thing she needed….."Thanks…" she murmured, not looking up at him.

Serenity heard him shuffle off, and breathed a sigh of relief. _We were almost friends before he found out about my dream, so maybe it's possible again! _Yawning, her mind kept drifting away, sleepily returning to the dream…..

Meanwhile on the beach, Seto Kaiba smirked as he walked. He'd gotten his compensation.

To be Continued Next chapter….

A/n: Aw, he peeked…..(chuckle) that's Kaiba's idea of foreplay, all right…."Take of your clothes"….(shakes head) Anyway, Review.


	7. Day Seven: United We Stand, Divided We F...

A/n: Meh, time to move things along…

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO

**%Day Seven: United We Stand, Divided We Fall%**

Serenity stood over in the cliff, overlooking the sea's tide, sulking. She had found out that Seto had spied on her while she was privately bathing, and the oaf had the gall to brag about it, even. "Revenge" he kept saying, and what she kept saying was that hers had been an accident, while his was on purpose. Along with a few other things she'd hurled at him, that is, words she hurled. Even though I should have thrown a coconut at his head, she thought, cheeks still pink. She was feeling a bit embarrassed, though still indignant, about the way she'd acted, not very "ladylike" at all, totally unlike her usual sweet self, but he just brought it out of her.

Well, I did say some…..pretty mean things, she thought, flicking at a broken-up seashell. Unprintable things. Words that weren't in the dictionary, sort. _But then he started to insult my brother, and---and all!_ And then he said….

_ That I had a pretty nice body, too….._

She flushed magenta at the thought. _Why must my face be all red like this_, she thought, pressing her dirty palms up to her cheeks. She needed to take another bath already, but she sure as…._heck_ wasn't going to--! _Must be 'cause he's cute, why my face is red, that is. _Even when frowning and scowling like that. _So?_ Plenty of others are too. But my face doesn't flush when I speak to _them_…..

Ergh! What _am_ I thinking! Nonsense, that's what!

She squinted her eyes shut and opened them again. The sky was a heavenly light blue, nearly turquoise, the same color as the sea. A few puffy white clouds floated lazily by. The palm trees' fronds swayed with the breeze. The picturesque view was nothing alike to her emotions right now.

_ And then I said,_ she thought, remembering….

%%Flashback%%

"Fine!" Serenity said, still having no idea why her cheeks were burning. "We'll just divide up this island, then!"

"_Divide_?" he said blankly, looking taken aback.

"Yes!" Reaching over, she grabbed a long stick and drew a line across the sand, making an indentation. "This is your half of the island, and this is mine."

The blank look disappeared, followed by a harsh laugh. "Ha _ha_! You wouldn't last a _day_ all _alone_, '_mutts_-sister.' " Her eyes flashed dangerously, but all he said was, calmly, "Fine, though. But don't come crying back, when some wild boar eats you for dinner!"

%%end flashback %%

It hadn't been the wild boar that Serenity was afraid of, and was the fast that the supplies' bag was on _his_ side of the divided up island. She had forgotten that tiny, but _powerful_ point.

So, even though it killed the last of her measly, scraped together pride, she had to go back and apologize, and hope he would accept it. _This isn't really my way of solving problems anyway,_ she thought, stepping along twigs and brush with a glum face. _Yeah, united we fall and divided we stand, or….something like that….. that's what I'll say._

She half-expected him to be waiting beside some tree, arms crossed, smirk in place, just waiting for her to come 'crying back', as he put it, and apologize. But he wasn't by some tree at all. Serenity spotted him sitting by the shore, on the beach, sitting and apparently watching the waves.

Her eye fell on the discarded supply bag, peeking out of the granite cave. She adjusted her windbreaker jacket nervously, fidgeting, thinking about just taking it and running off. But it was probably some trick….

She bent down in her jean shorts and took it cautiously, expecting it would trigger some trap. She didn't trust him at _all_ anymore. Not since he had admitted to have spied on her.

Casting another glance in his direction, she hoisted the bag over her shoulder. A nice picture of him coming over to her side of the island, crying HIS eyes out, floated into view. She spent so much time picturing it gleefully, it was quite dark before she came to her senses again.

Serenity cast another glance. He was still sitting there.

With a dejected-sounding sigh, she put the bag back where it was, then went and joined him. Kind of. She approached cautiously, like when a hunter approaches a dangerous tiger, and Seto heard her footsteps long before she spoke.

"You didn't take it eh?" he said as her mouth opened to talk, interrupting her.

"I---uh…." He must have eyes on the back of his head! "No…I didn't take it," she said proud of herself. The bag was still there.

"Idiot. You should've." He said tonelessly. But his voice lacked the usual fire and she wondered what was wrong. "Take a look," he said, gesturing over to the shoreline when she asked.

Serenity squinted in the dark, clouds had passed over the sun. It looked like the boat he'd been working on to fix. Except now it looked like a lump of coal.

"What happened?!" she exclaimed, not believing her eyes.

"Lightning," he said in that same toneless voice. Except now it had a twinge of disheartenment in it. "Last night, it'd been struck by lightning and ….burned to a _crisp_!"

The last part didn't sound as toneless as then words before it. But serenity knew what was wrong, they're last hope of ever getting back, their mode of transportation, had been destroyed. There was no way to fix it, and even he knew that.

"Ah….don't worry," she forced some enthusiasm in her voice. "I bet it's not as bad…….as …….it….._looks_," she finished, looking a bit worried because she had gone over to the boat and really saw the damage. It really was a lump of coal. Char-_coal_, that is.

"Well, at least we have plenty of coal now, for making fire," she said, still brightly, but not daring to look at him. she was thinking he would think her annoying.

" 'Coal….for the fire…..' " she heard him say in a scoffing tone, with a ridiculing snort. She flinched and winced, expecting him to go in a tirade about how dumb it sounded. It sounded dumb even to her own ears, instead of comforting.

But instead she swore she heard him snicker. Or something that _sounded_ like one. Then he began to laugh, like he was mad, and she was sure.

Sure that he had gone mad, that is. And he was certain he had. _T-this girl…..ALWAYS has a 'bright side' to everything, he?_

Thinking he was laughing at her, Serenity plopped down on the sand, studying the shoreline again. _Humph._ I come here to make amends on all he does is laugh. _What a……boy! Well, might as well do it. _"About what I said before." She said distantly. "I'm…sorry I said those mean things. I shouldn't have." She said in a whisper.

Even though, he heard it. "Yeah……whatever." Was the only thing he could thinking of to say. _Universal words, those._

"Really? S-so forgive and forget and let's start over--?!"

If it weren't for the fact they were on a deserted island, he would've acquired her perkiness to sugar. "Yeah, I guess….." he said just to placate her and quit her from jabbering.

"Great!" she stuck her hand out in a peace offering and he shook it, reluctantly, depression starting it settle in again about the ruined remains of the once KaibaYacht._ Sheesh, and those things cost money….!_ He kneaded his hands on his face, trying to think. Something _I_ don't have right now….

"I wonder….." she mused, half to the world, "What the others are doing…..our family and friends, I mean." _Probably wondering and thinking the worst, like never seeing us again, or something depressing._ The thought was too hard to even fathom, that her family was suffering, that she got up and went closer to the pulling tide, something shiny having caught her eye. The reflection of a glass bottle. Remembering the bottle she'd threw for her brother, with the note, thinking it might a be a correspondence back. Meanwhile, Seto was still brooding the fact that he was completely powerless to get back, his business _must_ be in ruins now, every enemy must have taken it over already, and he didn't even know anything about it, and a bunch of other stuff. Then he lifted his eyes and saw that she was only a speck on the horizon of blue sea.

What, is she drowning herself?! Getting up, he rushed over to the shore and hollered, "GET BACK HERE! WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_?!"

_ Ah! Got it!_ Serenity fisted the bottle, then swan back to shore to an angry looking Kaiba, staring at her. Hurriedly, she explained. "And I'm hoping this is a letter from him!"

"_That's_ what you'd risk your life for?! A _letter_?!?!?!!?!?!?!"

"Well, yeah, if it's from Joey," she went on, and with a feeling of excitement, she topped off the cork, seeing a message inside. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him rolling his eyes and throwing up his hands in the air in disgust. "Hmm….well, it's not a letter from Joey…." She whispered to herself, disappointed.

"See?!"

"It's a……treasure map!" Her voice picked up in excitement.

"What?!"

Before she could react, he'd snatched it away. _For such a big man, he sure can move fast,_ she thought. "Garbage!" he crumpled it up and threw it over his shoulder, declaring, "This is smut."

"Hey!" she said to the sand, as she bent down to pick it right back up as he moved away in disgust. "This….might lead….to something, at least…._maybe_ to a way out of here!" The map looked old, with a classical big red "X" in the middle. "I could….." Serenity said dreamily aloud underneath her breath, "pay all of my family's bills if there is treasure…." _Joey wouldn't have to do back-breaking work anymore! I'd be a hero! "_It's better than to stay here and mope!"  
"It looks like a _child's_ play drawing," he warned over his shoulder, going away in the opposite direction. "_Don't_ follow it."

_Even though she never follow any orders of mine….._

%%%%

And how quite right he was. Serenity, armed with a pen flashlight she'd found in the supplies as well as the bag again, discovered the shoreline on the map nearly almost exactly matched the one on their island. The picture in her mind's eye drove her forward: of not having to run away for the IRS, tax collectors, etc. She'd seen the big burn scars of Joey's hands, from the job he worked at, making test tubes for scientific purposes. _He saved me from that. at least I could do is repay him…._

How she'd actually get the gold over to him was something she decided to work on later. Right now was just getting it first.

"Don't even think about it!"

Turning slightly, she saw Seto, with his long arms crossed in a no nonsense sort of way. He was glaring, again. "You can stay here."

"Yeah right. I'm not going to take your dead body back to Japan," he huffed in a sort of childlike way, like when little kids stubbornly fight. "You're staying," he threatened, even if I have to tie you to a tree! Got it?!"

She lowered her eyelids, a stubborn turn taking over her mouth and twisting it. No one tells me what to do except for my brother! But she was to shy to say so, with him glaring viciously and all. "Fine."

With that he turned. And she went right into the cave to start her journey, wherever it might lead to.......

To be continued….


	8. Day Eight: Be Nice !

A/n: Wow, 60 . . . I was ready to give up on this fic ! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Me, I do not own YGO. The fic, yes.

**%Day Eight: Be Nice%**

I am going to get this treasure. And then I'm going to go back home. And pay our overdue bills. As repayment for making everybody worry about me. Clutching the treasure map she'd found in the ocean, Serenity strode, semi-confidently, up to huge cave, much bigger than the one she'd been staying in. A little thrill of adventure and excitement propelled her forward making her heart beat faster. _I can't wait! Everything's going to turn out just as I planned, everthing's gonna be just fine. _She studied the entrance, which looked like a big, yawning, mouth . . .. Of a monster . . .. _Brrr_ . . . . .

An eerie, moaning sound rattled from the cave. It seemed to make the trees to dance in the inky, midnight, nighttime sky.

She decided to go tomorrow.

%%%%

Early the next morning, it was cool and gray, a huge overcloud looming overhead. The breeze was refreshing, and a cluster of seagulls pecked down on the ivory white shore. _It probably is going to rain again. Oh, well! I'll be 'indoors' anyway. . . .!_ Serenity stood, blinking to get the sleep away, and gathered her supply pack. She cast a glance at the adjoining hammock: Seto was asleep. She stared hard into his face, but he didn't move or flinch. _Good_.

Creeping away, she broke into a quick run into the cave.

%%%%%

From the light outside, she could just make out the inscriptions, written. " 'Beware: this cave has many . . .. kraps,' " she read aloud, squinting. " _' Kraps?' "_ She looked down, lifting her feet, one after the other. _Crap-s?_ "Maybe it's misspelled . . .. But why would they warn about dog doo-doo?" she murmured, twisting around.

"Maybe because it's not misspelled," said a voice that dripped with malice, coming from _inside_ the cave. At least, it sounded malicious, to her terrified ears.

"_Zombie_!" she yelped, running off, or about to, when the thing grabbed her pack that was on her back! Her life-saving, supply pack. Well, she wasn't going to give _that_ up! There was a brief struggle, and she went sailing on the sandy floor. To her horror, her feet sank in the sand like it was water. _Quicksand_!

"For heaven's sake." He lifted her out as easily as if she were a rag doll, though the muck sucked to her legs like a giant leech. "Would you quit fighting? It makes you even more stuck!" He ignored her flailing arms, with effort, and tossed her to the side. Both were panting from strain.

"D-don't _sneak_ around like that! How did you---you were---" Serenity kept glancing back from him to the entrance, when she realized it was Seto. "You scared me.....!"

"So sorry," he said, with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "While you were creeping along, timidly, at a snail's pace, the whole world entered." Snatching the map, he began to scan it, also.

"T-t-t-that's mine!" she squeaked, but he ignored her. "Well, I guess, you can read it . . .." she said generously to herself.

" ' _Traps_,' " he said finally after a while. "It means Beware of traps. _'Craps,'_ " he scoffed, throwing it down with disdained roll of his eyes. "You should've been watching out for quicksand, instead!"

Serenity was about to point out that he had scared her into the quicksand, which still stood right in front the entrance of the cave, but she bit it down, and took up the map again. "Don't mind me," she said, just as polite as can be, walking past him further into the dark cave. "Go back to the shore, and brood away, or whatever you do---"

"Are _you_ telling me what to do, girl?" he said disdainfully. Maybe he did brood in the mornings, but he'd be darned if he let her make fun of him!

"It's just a suggestion . . .. " she amended with a sugary smile. " _'Boy_.' " Her hair whirled as she turned, settling back into place over her petite form. There was a silence as he goggled at her. "Unless, you like to . . .. Help me find my treasure!" she said, all her nice once again. She couldn't stay with sarcasm long.

Seto sighed and took a hold of his patience, and temper, with effort. He'd come because he knew she'd be in trouble---which she did---- and she was trying to boot him right out? Then, she said to stay? _Who does she think she is? Doesn't she know who I am?_

Granted, being stuck in this island with no food, shelter, or water probably made them both in the 'same' situation, so to speak. He was no longer rich here. Money had no value. It was like a Twilight Zone. A Wheeler was bossing him around!The last thought drove him insane_. _

_Whatever. All I need to do is get her out of this dangerous place, and keep her out. Short of dragging her out---she'd just come right back. If I took away that foolish chicken scratch she called a map, she'd probably . . . oh, say, cry?_

He shuddered. And there was no naturally growing Excredin on the island. Her wailing would drive him insane.

"No-o, you can look for it," he said, taking the tiny flashlight that was hanging off the pack, disguising his heavy sarcasm. "I'll just stay right outside, twiddling my thumbs, while you run smack into a bat nest and disrupt it----"

"B-b-b-_bats_?" she stuttered, her eyes huge and getting huger.

"Oh, yes. Hundreds of them. They swarm around in caves, just like this one, biting . . .. and getting caught in your _hair_ . . . " he said idly, inwardly smirking as Serenity immediately grabbed her head and squeaked in fright. "Must be thousands, actually, in a cave this big. Plus, deadly traps, like that quicksand there." He shone the flashlight at it. "So, there's probably skeletons, from people who'd tried for your _'treasure'_, and died . . .." He shone the light, at a random space in the darkness, illuminating a gruesome skeleton.

…..? ! ? ! ? ? ! ? ! ?

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" She shrieked, clutching at her chest, and falling as she backpedaled away. Her foot caught on something. Wondering what made her scream, he glanced behind him, just as there was a enormous rolling sound. . . . .like boulders . . . . .

The ceiling began to cave in.

Serenity screamed so loud, she turned herself hoarse, as big, deadly room-sized boulders crashed around them. Dust flew into a thick, choking cloud, making her cough and hack. By a miracle, she wasn't hurt, just stunned.

"Seto! Seto!"

Except for a few crumbling sounds, there was silence. Dear God, what if he was crushed? Meanwhile, he was thinking the same thing about her. He was sure she was . . .. well, dead. _If not . . . . ._ he made a menacing growling sound in his throat and followed the voice that was squeaking out his name, and with relief, he saw that she was fine. Hysterical, but fine.

"What were you doing?! Look what you---! Did . . . . . . ." With horror, though, he saw that a huge boulder, as big as two men, egg-shaped, had stuck in the quicksand, blocking the way out. They were stuck _inside_.Inside the cave. With no possible way to eat, get food . . .

Frantic, he tried to push at it, with it was deeply stuck in the muck. There only way of survival . . . . .gone . . ..

They were goners.

Serenity saw what had tripped her: a long, thick, gnarled branch half-sticking out of the sand. She had twisted her ankle, and it was throbbing, but she felt she could walk. Limping, she saw him absurdly trying to push the wall. Or what looked like a wall. Realizing, she gasped with terror. They were stuck in the cave . . .. with a disgusting skeleton! _Gross!_

Remembering the hideous thing behind her, she scuttled as close as to the entrance as possible, casting fearful glances behind her. She was so busy looking at the skeleton, she bumped into Seto. One look at his face, and she would've rather been with the skeleton.

"Are you . . . all right?" she asked meekly. It was obvious she'd triggered a "trap", that the map had warned about.

"Oh, just 'peachy'," he said, getting all riled up, copying her term. "Now that we're going to die in here, or suffocate, thanks to you, I'm just great!" With that, he started to try and push the boulder, leaning backwards on it and grunting.

Serenity felt terrible, as she slowly sank to the ground. _Blaming me, huh?!_ Who's the one who scared her witless, with that hideous thing over there_? Normally, I don't like violence, but if I had a bat . . . . _Her eye fell on the long, thin leg bone of the corpse.

. . . . . Nah. Two dead bodies . . . .way worse..

With a final, last effort, Seto decided it was a waste to try to move a ten-ton boulder. Sweating, he peered into the murky darkness, breathing heavily, chest heaving. Who knows how long this new cave went. _The unknown makes me uneasy and irritable._

Looking down, he saw Serenity was sitting in the floor, clutching her ankle. _Great_. She broke her ankle, he thought. Then he heard the sounds of soft hiccuping. Oh_. Even better!_ he thought sarcastically. Now she was going to start bawling.

I'd rather wrap her ankle, then have her cry, he thought murderously_. Anything_ but a weeping girl._ I can stand anything else!_ he watched her slender shoulders shake slightly. Now I have to go and "comfort" her . . . .

Silently, he realized he had no choice. _Let's see . . . how do I comfort Mokuba when's he's crying--? Though, I think my 12 year old brother is more mature!_. He mustered up his courage. What was that thing called? An apology. So he said he was sorry that he'd yellled in a mutter.

_What kind of an apology is that?_ thought Serenity, casting a quick look at him. It was so obvious it was insincere. _Still, it was a try._ She didn't say anything, though. What he had said really hurt her feelings..

His loud sigh reverberated around the cramped, tight walls. "You aren't claustrophobic, are you. . . ?"

She shook her head, still rubbing her foot.

"Good." He said shortly, turning back around toward the entrance again. blowing a breath through his nose, he shook his head at himself. Even I can "summon" a better apology than that, he thought. _Be nice. Be nice. Ugh, I'm no good at this. No wonder Mokuba can't stand me.._

Serenity saw him coming towards her so fast, that she backed away. "You have to be more careful, do you understand?" he growled at her in what he thought were soothing tones, "a rock would've crushed you flatter than a pancake!" he smashed on fist into his palm, causing her to jump.

Serenity flinched when he erased his arm. Vaguely puzzled, he did it again, and she flinched again. Even when he just had his arm up in the air. Just the arm up, she would cower away, like an instinctive reaction. It baffled him. _Why would she?_

And again. She flinched.

Hmm. . . . Vaguely amusing.

And again. She flinched. On the fifth time or so, she kicked, getting him in the leg. What was she, a test rabbit?! A guinea pig?!

Her feet were bare, so it didn't hurt much, but it _did_ make him angry_. _"You kicked me---!" he gasped, as if she'd committed a serious crime.

"Well . . . what do-o you think. _You're_ doing.....?!" she defended, cowering in the corner. Was he purposely trying to scare her or what? Suddenly, she knew, with anger, the answer was _yes_. She rarely lost her temper . . . .

. . . . . but when she did, _watch out_! It wasn't her fault they were trapped! _"It's your fault!"_ she suddenly yelled, as he blinked at her in a gape and she gave on last hard kick…..

…….this time, not in the shin . . . .

Serenity opened her eyes; she had closed them tight and kicked out, now everything was quiet, all of the sudden! Too quiet.

A whimper, then, a thud.

To be continued. . . . .

* * *

A/n: ouch. Kaiba shouldn't have tried to scare Serenity. Well, now they're stuck. What exciting things will happen? Review to find out. 


	9. Day Nine: He's Gone Mad

A/n: I made Serenity a little trippy for humorous purposes, but she should change soon as well as Kaiba. Well, I hope you enjoy. I don't own YuGiOh!

**Day Nine: He's Gone Mad**

Serenity heard a whimper, and at first thought it was from _her_, because her sore foot was now throbbing. Then she saw him lying in his side, unmoving, staring straight ahead, eyes bulging open.

"Oh, my god! I am _soooo_ frigging sorry!" she yelled, when she saw where he was clutching himself. "Does it hurt?" _What am I saying, of course it must hurt!_ "_STAY THERE_!" She ran off further into the cave, hurrying past the skeleton. As if led, she found a small underwater pool, and dipped a cloth in the fresh, cold water, moved his hands and pressed.

Seto was dimly aware, of anything for that matter, lying in the dimly lit cave from only the light outside to see by. He had never been hit _there_ before, and this was with Mokuba tearing around the house at high speed with his head waist length. He felt something cool and soothing, and finally closed his eyes. "That should do," Serenity was saying, her chatter conversational rising around him. "I remember when Joey used a cold compress when he got hit there once with a baseball . . . .this'll… "

Suddenly, he backed away from her, the cloth dropping with a _plop_ to the floor. "What, did YOU DO?!" He practically snarled at her, coming to his senses quickly.. "Look what you did!!" He gestured wildly at his pants.

Serenity saw the dark spot and stammered, "Well, I couldn't think of anything e-else---" She fidgeted with a hole in the front of her shirt, for which she had torn for the cloth. "And you shouldn't h-have scared me with that _awful_ skeleton . . . " She cast a fearful glance behind her.

"But there's isn't any SKELETON!" he suddenly yelled, grabbing the flashlight and illuminating the dark corridors. "SEE?!"

Serenity stared. "But there was! I swear!"

"Skeletons just get up and walk off?!" he said sarcastically, waving his arms again. A big vein was throbbing at his temple as he continued to yell, and Serenity couldn't help being fascinated by it, for a moment. "Well you ought to write to Discovery Channel about your oh so fascinating findings!"

It was clear she wasn't paying attention to a thing he said. Which made him only angrier.Really yelling now, throwing a major tantrum, and then:

"_SERRRRRREENNNNNNIIIITTTTYYYY!!!!!"_

Both froze.

Then Serenity got up quickly and went to the crack of light behind the boulder, hoping aganist hope her mind wasn't playing tricks on her again. _That's . . . . Joey's VOICE__!_

"PLEEEASSSE!!! ANSSWER MEEEE!!"

"Joey!" Serenity screamed as loudly as she could from inside the cave. She was so excited at the thought of finally seeing him again, finally going _home_, she started spilling everything that had happened on the island, _everything_, finishing with, "---a-a-nd please help me!! Help---_mmph_!" She was silenced by Seto's hand clamping around her mouth in a vice like grip from behind.

Meanwhile, Joey had seen the two hammocks, side by side, and made a low growling sound. "_SEEERRREENNITTYYY_!" he called again, stepping further into the bushes.

"What do you thinking you're doing?!" Serenity hissed at him, yanking his arm off She tried to wriggle away from his grasp, but it was steel-like.

"Like-like I'm really going to let myself be found like _this_!" Seto growled at her, gesturing to his pants. "Especially by _him_!"

Her eyes widened. Was he _mad_? This was _salvation_ they were talking about! "_Take them off, then! _But I'm getting out!_"_ she sputtered hysterically, scurrying back to the blocked entrance. Stupid men! "I'M HERE, PLEASE SAVE --!" she yelled as loud as she possibly could, before he grabbed her again to make her stop.

"Oh yeah, me seen with my pants off," he muttered sarcastically above her struggles. "_That'll_ be better . . . ."

Meanwhile, Joey had heard something. Turning, he crept over to a tall cave blocked by a boulder and studied it. "Sis?" He began probing around the boulder trying to get past.

Serenity didn't know what to do. Despite wanting to get back home, she didn't have the heart to bite his hand, after she'd just kicked him. So she quit struggling and tiredly closed her eyes, sending a mental message to her only sibling with all her might.

"We have looked everywhere," reported the sailors, "and there is no one here. let us continue the search on another island."

"But the hammocks!" Joey wiped his nose on his hand. "Dere here!"

"It could be a left over from another vacationer," suggested the men.

_No! It's not! Joey!_ Serenity thought miserably, via on any psychic connection they had. Meanwhile, Seto stared hatefully toward the blocking boulder, feeling her finally relax._ I rather die!_

"You'd better go somewhere sir," said the sailor. "That's quicksand you're on!" Joey looked down.

"Yah!" he said, jumping away.

"Anyway, they wouldn't be in here, they would never get past the quicksand," said the other. They nodded.

Staring at the up at the boulder, Joey said finally, "Guess . . . . yer right. . . . " They started retreating back.

"No JOEY!" Serenity screamed through Seto's hand. Joey stopped in midstep.

"What's wrong?" said the sailor questioningly.

"Nothin'. . . . thought I heard somethin'. But it was nothin'." The boarded their motorboat again. "Let's keep searchin.' "

Serenity saw her brother leave her through the peephole. Tears started stinging her eyes, and with a sigh, Seto released her, finally. "Why didn't you hear me . . . ?" she whispered, falling to her knees in the sand.

I_ can't believe it . . ._

Taking a deep, angry breath Seto knelt down, annoyed. "Because he's DEAF as well as dumb," he stated, "and can't even hear his sister! Does that answer your stupid question?!"

With a gasp of pure outrage, Serenity slapped a hand across his face. He blocked it easily with his own, face stone-set and glaring at her as if _she'd_ been the one to stop him from being saved, instead of the other way around. But all it did was slow it down, really, and her hand fell across his cheek. His gaze cooled down from arctic temperatures to a royal-blue sea.

The electric field that had been building sparked up into palpable tension around them. Neither dared to move. She didn't even take her hand off, wondering with some awe what was happening to her, what was she feeling, why her hand was curving around his face in a . . . . caress? Impossible! But it was, and she sat there on her knees, shuddering in fear at what he would do for _trying_ to slap _him_, as he stared at her, at her pale, heart-shaped face, with the large dark eyes staring back warily; her thin, pale shoulders hunched forward. She looked pathetic, but he felt a brief, but strong twinge to . . . . kiss her. _Unexplainable . . . . unreasonable . . . . ._ and for that reason, he sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor, released her and just then, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek.

He stumbled back, uncharacteristically recklessly. "W-what. Did. You. Do. That. for?!" he gasped heatedly, as if she'd committed a serious crime.

"I dunno . . . . , you looked so sad . . . . "she said in a light whisper, turning scarlet.

" ' Sad'?!" he gaped, hustling backward, as if she'd turned into something he'd never seen. "You though I looked SAD?!" _She pitied Me?! ME?!_

She just blinked at him, wondering why was he throwing a hissy fit. Tired, not wanting to know what she'd done wrong _this_ time, she glanced back at the darkness of the cave again_. I was so sure I saw that dead guy there! But there's nothing now . . . _She lay down and curled up into a nap.

Seto realized that he was making a big deal out of nothing, but he still was bristling at the thought of being called "sad." Getting up, he decided to work on their current problem: getting out of there. It would be stupid to continue in the cave, who knew what lay there. He was convinced this was an underwater cave, judging by the slope. If the ceiling were to collapse again, they would drown.

No, it was best they stay here. He had noticed she had taken the pack of supplies inside. Smart girl. He watched her arms hug her knees to her chest and stare out the tiny crack of light behind the blocking boulder. Conscience pricked him. Why had he attacked her like that? Did she really see something? But, then how would a dead person just get up and walk? Impossible!

And how can she just lie there and sleep?! Stupid . . . girl . . .. . Sighing, he poked into her bag. Any way anyone looked at it, they were stuck.

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

A/n: I like when Serenity was trying to 'cure' Kaiba in her naivete . . . . Please R&R. 


	10. Day Ten: Breaking the Ice

A/N: phew, did I have a block of a time. Now I'M thinking about that 'stubble' now…..lol……okay, he sports a _goatee_, so it's fine......thanks for the reviews. BTW, Seto has dipped into the sideof OOC-ness, but he's funny when he's OOC, and this _is_ part humor, so.....

Disclaimer: All Day plus YGO = Don't Own.

"talking"

_thoughts, emphasis_

**Day Ten: Breaking the Ice**

The steady _drip drip_ somewhere in the cave was the only sound in the vicinity, except for the occasional sigh or two. Ten days…..ten days stuck; had passed since the beginning of their estrangement from society. From the outer world. _And it's all my fault….._

….no actually, it's all her fault!

Even though it wasn't true and he didn't _really_ believe it was, either, it did make him feel better just thiniking it. For the past six hours, he'd been mulling over the events during those past ten days. And he'd come to the conclusion: _that it wasn't his fault ! None of it._

Hmph! he grunted.

She just HAD to do it, didn't she. Just HAD to do it.

He growled, crushing a block of sandstone between his strong fingers. It crumbled all around the front of his pants, tumbling down his leg, back in the sand where he sat, where they once were begat. _Born from the dust, return to the dust.....like man...._

The wind whistled, cheerily and obscenely loud, cutting through the silence like a deadly knife plunging, through the crack between the boulder and stone wall, where Serenity was, stirring her long hair and ruffling his. She didn't stir from her huddle, just as he didn't.

Waiting…..both waiting.....for death.....

She just HAD to kiss me. Even _death_ seemed something more forward to look to, more better to handle, than this tension between them, now; the one that _she_ put there.

Why couldn't I have been alone? It would have been so much better. He would've felt much less lonelier.

Even though, technically, he was 'with' _someone else_, he still felt a lot less lonelier when alone. Alone was good. Something…._un_-new. Typical. Usual.

He sighed in frustration, feeling sorry for himself. And hating feeling that way. Then again, no one was here, no one had to know, no one could know. About him feeling sorry for himself, that is. It was like a little _mental_ vacation, since working constantly always kept him busy; too busy enough to brood. Much. That was how he liked it. _Ugh_.

_Girls._ Romance makes me want to retch.

Especially this one. Just a little girl. Puny, really. No bigger than his shoulder. Pretty, yes, but……a lot of girls were! So what!

She saw you naked, taunted a voice, mocking him mercilessly. _No ONE. No One EVER sees ME naked!!!_ Humiliation and fury surged up again. Not even _Mokuba_ had seen him unclothed, _ever_. To him, nakedness was being all ....._v-vulnerable, such a horrible word...._

And that's why he put on so many clothes all of the time; although, now, he was wearing some cheap-ass shorts and plain shirt, because he had to; his clothes were ruined by the tornado that had hit them at sea. _I should hate her…but I don't. All because of that …..kisssss, she just HAD to do…_The words slid quietly from his lips, sounding like a hiss of hate, underneath his breath. _Idiot.....that changes everything....I must be an idiot, too._

Meanwhile, Serenity had her knees drawn up, her head buried in them, wondering if her brother had given up on her yet. Probably so……and maybe crying his eyes out because of her eternal disappearance. Knowing he had failed her…..failed at keeping her safe…._sigh_....

Not able to stand it, she turned her head, as the sound of quiet growling emitted behind her. for the last hour or so, that guy had been talking to himself, muttering, grumbling, the works. And staring at her, when she wasn't looking. But _feeling_. She felt like Swiss cheese must, with all the holes he'd bored with his eyes. _I'm too miserable to even_ wonder _about him…..what is to become of us._ Her head hurt and she smiled sleepily, hair falling over her face and arms like a shield. _If I am to die……at least I won't be alone….it sucks to be alone, at a time like this._

Her hand reached behind her, searching for a blanket from the pack at the same time he was looking for some new pants. (He still hadn't changed from his soggy ones). Their hands collided and it was like a jolt of white lightning. His eyes jumped towards hers, and then he snatched the pack, turning away while speaking to her.

"What?" he muttered, as she blinked in confusion, he hand still where the pack had been on the sandy floor. "Did you want something?" _Your highness?_

"Er, just a…." she stuttered, sitll hopelessly confused, as he tossed her a blanket they'd used for a hammock.

"….blanket. Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he muttered, then looked back at her, suddenly, forcefully. "Or whatever happened on this island when we get back. Got it?!"

"Don't worry, I won't." _Not that anyone'll believe me, anyway!_ That's me; always thoughtful. Trying shake the unshakable, she murmured into her knees, staring through the tiny stream of light. Besides, it was his fault they were stuck there; otherwise, they would've been already home. Her eyes told him this, and he avoided them, feeling a sharp stab of guilt, since it was true. "What's wrong....?"

He muttered that nothing was, and turned to sulk at the wall, again, like a little boy.

She thought she had saw another person yesterday, when the uproar had begun of their almost being saved. Her hand touched his arm lightly, questioningly, and he looked down at it. But then he just grunted again, his soft grunt/snort, and said no more. He didn't want her being nice to him, it would just rub in the guilt more.

Day turned into night, and complete and total darkness settled in their little den. "I should...make a fire..." she barely heard him mutter, since she was nearly asleep, curled up on the floor in the warm blanket, shivering profusely. Her biggest fear was falling asleep in the vicinty of the quicksand, and drowning, was it? Oh, yes, it was just another fun-tastic day/night on Marooned Island.

_Mustn't think....like that.....must be....optimistic.....zz...._

Meanwhile, Seto glanced at the ceiling; it was pretty high, so the smoke wouldn't be able to reach them, but he was taking no chances. Then again, there was a pretty good chance of freezing, she was already shaking and shivering in the thin wool blanket. Rather uncontrollably. Glancing at her, he asked in concern what hurt.

"Ouch....My......neck...." she mumbled into the blanket, which was pulled up around her mouth, making her words nearly incoherent. Slipping in and out of conciousness, she slurred, "So sleepy.....and cold...." Another burst of shivers racked.

_I guess I'll be making the fire, after all. It wouldn't do to die of hypothermia, she has to die of asphixiation first_. Chuckling totally without humor at that, he glanced at her again while fixing the fire. Good thing......the fire was roaring in a blaze, crackling loudly. Still, she shivered miserably, even though only a few feet from it.

Sensitive.....

Remembering, he sat her up and turned her head to the side; it didn't take much because her head was lolling over away. He saw with alarm that the cut on her neck, the one she'd sustained from having the life supply pack dropped on her, had tore open and was trickling blood down her shoulder blades. Muttering an oath, he pressed a clean, damp cloth and gently wiped it clean, then put another bandage he'd fashioned from an old shirt.

Her skin felt unusually warm....probably suffering from a fever.....her forehead confirmed that. Her eyes were half closed, no doubt in deep delusion, a common side effect. The amber hair seemed to catch the movement of the flames.....

_Whoa. When did----where did _that _come from?!_ Sputtering, he laid her back down, glad she was asleep so she wouldn't hear it, and gathered up the pack again to see if there's was any food left to eat. Rummaging, he found some......berries. Half smashed to pulp, no less.

That's it? This wouldn't feed an ant! Half an ant! Half a smashed ant! Muttering, he bit into one, wrinkling his nose at the bitter taste of it. _This is almost as bitter....as me! Hah, made a joke._ He raised his eyes up to eye her again, still, with her face turned the other way, violently trembling. Her breathing sounded shallow, she might not make it. "Wake up," he commanded, shaking the shoulder, lightly but firmly. "Time to eat....."

She muttered something, in her sleep, and rolled over.

"Come on, you have to sustain..your strength...." He trailed off, rolling her back to face him. "I know you're hungry.....eat." It was a simple enough direction to follow, but she just continued to moan and mutter, in pain.

Biting into another, he studied her tiny, limp, feminine frame. It's best if she does sleep, she's obviously in pain. _Still, she HAS to eat! Neither of us has ate well in days._ Even while curled up, her long amber hair fell obscurely aganist her creamy face, the fire making it alsomst the smae color. It was much shaggier than before they'd arrived at the island. He knew his was as well; he had to keep shaking it out of his eyes to see._ I guess stress does make your hair grow faster._ "Come on, wake up.....you can't just fall asleep here!"

Nothing. She stopped her moaning, now she was completely silent. The fire crackled cheerfully for them both, as if the entertainer in a deserted stadium. Only the soft sound of her light peaceful breathing was audible over it. Outside, something loud scampered by, but they were safe inside here from it, so her didn't pay it much attention.

_She still has to eat. If not, she'll get weaker and weaker....with....more time that passes._ He bit into another and chewed slowly, watching her so critically, he hardly blinked, watching. So soft.....so quiet.... he could hear loud pounding in his ears, from his own daring, as an idea slowly whispered up and took form. Bending over her, he opened her mouth a little with a thumb on her delicate, tiny chin, stared, and closed his lips on top of hers. There, he pushed the warmed food inside, not too far in, then pushed away. The heat from her fever had seemed to have combined and gathered in her lips, they'd felt incredibly warm. _Definitely a fever. And look--I'm not retching! It wasn't bad.....really......_

She uttered a short mutter of content; chewed and swallowed automatically, and was still. The sounds seemed to echo of the walls, the silence and tension was so thick. At least, for him. She just contined to look peaceful, a tiny smile forming dreamily, while he was a wreck, inside.

Chewing into another berry, almost thoughtfully, he had the thought of the 'bittersweet taste.' Sweetness mixed in with bitterness, how it seemed to symbolize them, and what they were doing to a T. Repeating the process again, he tried as hard as he could to pretend that this _wasn't_ a kiss, exactly, he was just trying to keep her from starving, to death, it wasn't like he _liked_ her, or anything....but....

By the third time around the berries were forgotten......

To be continued next chapter.

* * *

A/n: I really do think Kaiba sometimes acts like a little boy: greedy, greedy, mine, mine, that sort of thing. Yum.....Now I feel like a bowl of berries. I should have had cream 'mysteriously' drop in the cave, lol. see you next chapter, after you review ! 


	11. Day Eleven: It's Good to be Alive

A/n: I think that I'll turn this into a 'he likes her, but she doesn't know' kind of fic. I haven't read an SxS fic that wasn't OOC (out of character) & when the girl gets chased by the guy yet. Any way thanks for the reviews, 21 the last chapter ! Whoo ! That's cool.

****

Day Eleven: It's Good To be Alive

Serenity woke up to the sensation of having something on her face. By now, she was used to leaving her dreams of home to wake up in the stark cold wilderness, so it could've been anything from a lizard, to a cobweb woven across her face. (She was a really still sleeper) It didn't feel like the blanket underneath her arm, but itchy and suffocating all the same. Opening her eyes, she realized it was her long knotted hair.

Grabbing the ends and flipping it over while sitting up, she thought that nothing could make her grumpier than being nearly suffocated by her own hair. _I can just picture it….. 'Corpse found. It appears she had been suffocated by her own hair.'_ Not by wild animals or a lighting strike and the pneumonia'--- that I think I almost died last night of---

Serenity stopped the muttering in her head and…..blinked. Light?

Light pouring in made fluorescent by…the….clouds…..?

Outdoors! Oh my God! The sea scent from the ocean stirred her hair as she hurriedly got up, a little unsteadily on her bare feet, nearly slipping in the sand. _Am I dreaming?_ The blanket pooled uselessly to the floor around her feet. But no---She really was truly, outside!

The palms waved in the wide sky blue sky, as if greeting her recovery. She felt a strong urge to climb the tallest, highest tree and shout out in pure joy. Then again, she would probably fall, and let's see that on the cover of the Weekly _Times._ 'Girl was so happy to be alive, she plummeted down After Climbing a Tree….after Being Suffocated By Her Own Hair.' Serenity giggled, nervously. What thoughts…..I'm _crazy_.

"What are you giggling about." A kindly voice came from behind her, making her whirl in surprise, taken aback.

"Who's t-there?!" _Oh no......this IS a dream........_

"What are mumbling to yourself about." Seto crossed his arms, looks just as tall and knightly as he always did, even in the last of the cheap clothes they had been sent. Serenity didn't have anything to wear……except the clothes she was wearing right now. "You have to wash your own," he said simply when she questioned about them.

"Oh, okay….." She gestured haphazardly behind her, wondering why a sudden taste of berries had risen. "W-what about….?"

"Easy," he grinned, even though it _hadn't_ been easy. But of course, he wasn't about to say anything else. "There was a flare hidden deep in the pack you took. The _signaling_ flare. _The same one we were _supposed_ to send up….!_ It works the same as dynamite," he finished, shrugging.

Like it was _nothing_. But she sputtered. "Nothing.....? Now, we have a chance!" _At life,_ was what she meant.......which he knew, but he was thinking of something else. "That was really smart.…I had totally forgot."

Her hands dropped to her thighs with a slap, and he watched her laugh at her ineptitude without seeming too obvious about it about her joy. It was infectious, and he found himself fighting with a smile. It was great to finally be outside. And alive. And well. And to have the sun on your face and the cool wind breeze your back. Again. _Even though where back to where we were, it is nice......to be alive._

He frowned suddenly at a realization that was the first time he'd thought that. "It's nice to be alive." Everyday, waking up in his own four-poster king-size bed, with all it's soft, silken sheets; which made someone numb feel like you were diving in a pool of satin water, he had never thought that. _"It's great to be me!",_ yes....... "_Now who can I torture/fire/a&b/all of the above today?",_ maybe......but never "_It's nice to be alive......"_

Makes me appreciate all the things I used to have.......material things.......who knew? Who knew that I _could ever do so?_

_I think I found the one thing that boggles even my mind.....the big pulsating melon mind of mine......it's boggled. Totally._

_Besides, what am I thinking these depressing thoughts about me never getting back home? Of_ course _I will! They haven't killed me yet._ And as to who 'they' were, it was to the vultures who were probably plundering his estate right now. He sighed and squatted, working out his stiff legs from being cramped in that little cave right now.

She came over and looked at him right in the face, squatting too. "What's wrong?!" She looked anxious, like as if he were about to say, now nuclear misslies are pointed towards our little island.....A light smudge of dirt reflected on one cheekbone, marring her perfect delicate rosy color of her skin......

_Our little island......._He fought the urge to wipe it off. It was just.......I_ like things to be neat and clean,_ he thought. Anyway, he was feeling a bit guilty about what.....had happened. Last night. Taking advantage of her.......no matter how one looked at it, it was true. He had. The first two times were to save her life, but the third......Rationalizations, all the rationalizations in the world couldn't--wouldn't--didn't help....

_Guilt. _Another _feeling I abhor. Right after confusion, too.....! I'm on a roll. What else am I going to feel, next?!_

......Love?! ...................I don't believe in love.......! It's like the tooth fairy.

He brushed the grit away, anyway. _Because I want to!_ "I'm sorry......."

_Well, apologizing is better ......if it takes this guilt away._

If only, though! Whoever said confession's good for the soul was off their rocker. Now he felt even _worse_. Because, she was looking at him in a way......that was hard to describe. (_Great_. _Now I can't even describe, anymore..) _It was so steady, that he could see his reflection, twin-ed, and it made something twist in his stomach.

Now what? Is this some kind of weird game show, called, 'Let's See What Else Seto Kaiba Can Feel?!'

.....more like, 'Let's See How Much More He Can Be Confused'......

Hoo, boy. I'm in love. Ugh. The one thing I haven't studied in textbooks.

"For what?" Serenity was saying, now for the fifth time, already, wondering profusely what had caused that sudden glum look he had on now. Before that, there was thoughtfulness. And, previously, a......kind of hope. But he looked......sad, as if .....disgusted with himself.

Did he DO something to me last night? I don't remember.....I am such a sound sleeper, like Joey....Heck, I didn't even heard as the entrance was being blasted open! Talk about being unaware....

"Well?!" she said a little impatiently. Her knees were starting to getting stiff and numb from crouching so long....! She teetered and caught herself

._....Oh, of_ course_! She'll be totally disgusted....and be all mad....._Still, just saying the words made it stick uncomfortably._ Best to throw in some kind of LEER, too....whilst I say it...._

But this was silly. He wasn't the kind who leered at pretty girls, went around flipping skirts and the like, like the mutt and his crew of hound dogs. Still, he did the best he could, leaning toward her and all, trying to be _lecherous_....he even put up his hands in air as if making to grab her, even...... then remembered the last time he did that, he got kicked in the gonads. He quickly put his hands back down and told her what happened, everything.

Serenity went very still. She just looked totally shocked. Not _thrilled._ "You....did. What?"

She sounded totally disbelieving, like she didn't believe it. Not disgusted at all, but just.....shocked. Which she was. It was obvious she didn't have a manipulative bone in her body. She was wondering if this was another weird trait boys have, to confess to they had kissed you last night when they didn't. It was obvious she hadn't remembered a single thing about it last night.

It was plain as day in her blank expression. He felt the same thing, the same **insult**, he had felt when she had said she hadn't seen 'anything' when she had saw him unclothed. (If she had seen me naked, she damn well have better had sawn something! She darn well better have been _impressed_!) And now, she stood there, blinking in confusion, her small, perfectly pink mouth gaped slightly, looking at him as if he'd lost his marbles. _Me?! Lost my marbles?!---eh bad pun---As if!_

He got up quickly and headed north to the shore, throwing her a dark, withering look over his shoulder. His stride seemed to shake to whole island as he stalked off.....

Meanwhile.....

Serenity watched him go, her eyes wide and wondering._ Um.....what just happened....?_ Clearly, he didn't seem to know that she couldn't read minds and therefore, that's why he didn't voice his feelings. Aloud. The blood went out from her legs, and she fell back on her rump in the sand with a thump. Certainly, a complex character....

The most I've ever met, anyway. What's he so mad about....?

Boys....She shook her head to dispel any further, lingering thoughts, got up, and dusted herself off. She was still wearing the torn windbreaker and a light tank underneath, with shorts that somehow seemed small. It was best not to try to figure them out. She went down to the old pond to wash her face. _PMS, probably....most likely.....who knew guys got it too._ Feeling a bit more refreshed, she listened for sounds of work. That's what he usually did when he headed for the beach, to work on the boat to get them back.....Her hands stilled on her cheek. Oh yeah, I forgot, that too......lightning crisped our ride home. That explained the silence, now; even the seabirds had stopped calling.

Putting the washcloth back, she looked around for the soap in her pack. There was no time to be shy this time, she dearly wished to feel clean again. Anything to be clean, again.... The washcloth had felt cool and soothing against her cheek, reminding her of the raging fever she'd had......._Did....he help me through it....?_ Well, it was obvious that he did, since it was gone now.....She patted her wrist to her forehead, and finally located the bar. It felt wet; he'd probably took a bath earlier, too. Smarrt...._I have to thank him for helping me when I was sick, too.....what's he so mad about...? I don't understand...._

Clean once again, she washed her clothes and set them to dry as she wrapped a blanket so not to catch another chill. She stared up at the hanging laundry. Her underwear had been destroyed a long time ago, it wasn't really that bad, it just felt a little weird. Not to have any underwear on, that is. Breezy. Drafty.

When they were dry, she was aware her stomach was nearly digesting itself with hunger. By now, hunger was now recognized as a kind of numb pain, which meant it was there, but it wasn't paid much attention to. Reminiscent, it was, of the days and weeks she'd had to go without food a long time ago, when she was seven, because of family bills. So it wasn't anything new, not really. Still, she decided to find something to eat and soon.

Dressed again, she shivered as a breeze ruffled the tall palms, and rubbed her arms as she made her way towards the berry bushes. The sky was cloudy, but not cool. So maybe no rain today. Maybe. Hunger gnawing she bent by the thick plants, swatting away giant mosquitoes that seemed to have migrated over here tonight. _Mosquitoes.....breathe in carbon dioxide....that how they tell where humans are._ They weren't as abundant near the shore, so Serenity held her breath and picked the ripest fruit, a very uncomfortable situation to be in.

The berries tasted sweet, ripened by the sun, and she was thinking of how they might be poisonous, but was so _hungry_, she didn't care. Her hands went back and forth in blurry motion, stuffing herself as much as she could. I'd better not eat too much, less I get sick; now matter how hungry I am. Her fingers closed on one particularly plum juicy berry, but when she put in her mouth, bitterness filled her tongue_. Ewww.....!!!!_ She spat it out as much as she could, then went to the pond to rinse.....

Thoughtfully holding up some water, her eyes fixed on a particularly tall palm, she rolled her tongue to get all the nasty taste out, and took a swig. And then she _remembered_. Spitting, choking, she managed to catch her breath again, sitting down again with a thump on the weak grass that dared to grow in the abundant sand....

H-he....really did do it!_ He really did......kiss me! I remember.....!_ She exhaled sharply, looking over her shoulder. _Well! I-I.....never! _The nerve, taking advantage of her when she was pratically dying, in his arms, dellusioned by a fever, and t-then......_bleeding to death by my cut!_ Here, she touched the back of her neck, finding the bandage. _Fresh? Oh.....right. _Still, it was NO excuse. I wouldn't have done that to him! After all he did to me......

And plus, now sulking on the beach like a little bad kid....True, he did apologize, but WHAT'S HE SO MAD ABOUT?! Serenity shot to her feet, a furious and determined expression curving her naturally sweet one. I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE MAD. HOW DARE HE TAKE AWAY MY RIGHT. I should--I should---go and kick him--_again, yes, again_---! Say, 'You idiot, what's the big deal?!?!?!?!?!?!'

Her anger faded away rapidly as she kicked the ground, her bare feet digging in the sand, and noticed a flower with large petals at her feet. She bent and picked it up, with a big sigh, holding the velvety deep red folds. It curled around her finger as his hands had curled around her face, her eyes opening just a smidgen, seeing through her lashes his head bend towards her, and _feeling_......-----

Serenity held the flower between her thumb and forefinger, staring at it as she walked towards the shore. Then, she clasped it behind her back nervously as she stepped towards the trees.

This side of the beach was pretty white and sandy. Turquoise waves rolled and crashed loudly against each other, white puffy clouds sailed lazily by, as if they hadn't a care in the world. What was worse, Seto had forgotten which way pointed towards home. The kiss must have erased his memory, as well. Soft footsteps sounded behind him where he was sitting, arms wrapped loosely around raised knees.

It was pretty late. "What.."

His belligerent tone stung, but she just flinched briefly and said simply: "I remembered."

"Oh, really." The ground was stared at studiously, by the both of them. A drift made her long russet hair dance as she sat down, right next to him. The silence bothered him immensely, calling attention to other proof he had changed. "......"

Still, he couldn't think of anything to say. So it went on and on, until finally she broke it: "I, uh, don't know....what to say......"

Which didn't help beat the silence much. "Great." He let go of his legs and stretched back, leaning against a bowing short palm. "That'll do."

One small hand touched his arm, revealing the deep red bud open like a star in her other palm. "Bear with me. Please. This is the first time something--anything like this has happened to me."

That came as a surprise to him. He'd seen boys hounding her all the time in Domino. "Never mind it, Serenity. It was....for purely practical reasons." There was a silence and he hoped she wouldn't burst into tears, but he believed in handling things the way one pulls off a bandage off a wound---quick and fast. And this was no exception. "It.....it didn't mean anything. So don't worry."

"Oh. Oh, I know," she said quickly. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she said, "I mean.....i-it was very nice, and all, what I remember, anyway, but I know......" She hesitated here. "..... you wouldn't be interested......"

He watched the auburn strands that danced around her small, heartshaped face, turning to her then, and smiling slightly. She didn't have to say more. "I see."

"I mean, you're rich, 'n all, and famous, 'n most likely have women dropping at your feet," she said, speaking very fast and stuttering at each word, because she was nervous. Her hand kept gesturing at her lap as she spoke, the flower waving at him. "But I like you, and I'd be honored if you would think of me as a friend....."

The words died on her lips as he took up the flower from her fingertips and studied it slowly. "But I don't think someone like 'me' would like to be friends with someone like 'you.' Right?" A kind of a teasing grin creased his cheek. "From we're from."

"But we're not home," she pointed out quickly, wanting to make amends. Her earnest face turned into a expression of surprise as he reached up and tucked the flower behind her ear. The two dark reds complimented each other exactly. All was still. Not even the wind dared to breathe.

"That's true." He watched her brown eyes glow, relieved, huge on her creamy complexion. Blue eyes met brown. Light met Dark. And she turned slightly pink as lowered her gaze to where his hand was, resting at his midsection. "I really like you too, Serenity."

She realized with surprise her heart was pounding and fluttering as though she'd just run a race. Plus, her voice came out as shaky with her heart dancing in her throat like that and her palms slipped together, sweaty. _He's just being nice, just saying that, what's the matter with you?!_ she thought. _No time to get all excited, silly! _

And then, while Seto watched her get all flustered and Serenity stared at the curling flower, turning the exact deep reddish hue as it, they had a mutual thought:_ It's good to be alive._ That, and _'I'd like a good juicy hamburger right now......'._

Meanwhile.....

_"I'm sorry, sir, but there is no sign of them. You'll have to face it. It been ten days....!"_

A big clap on the shoulder of sympathy on a sobbing hysterically Joey as all the sailors in the Coast Guard departed, fatigued and weak from battling heavy wind storms at sea. Mokuba Kaiba, more calm, sat by the dock, dangling his little feet over, staring at the water, utterly silent. Then again, he hadn't spoken in a week. But Joey pretty much articulated what they both wanted to say.

"NO! nononono! Keep--keep--keep searchin'!!!!! At least.......at least until the end of one more day....."

The sailors, sighed, shot one another with Might As Well Humor Him looks, and agreed.

By the end of the day, the press declared Seto Kaiba and Serenity Wheeler as, officially, dead. (Some just couldn't believe it, since he was so famous.)

Cause of death: L.A.S.....

_.....lost at sea._

_To Be Continued......_

* * *

A/n: Sorry to end it on such a morbid note, but working the irony.....them thinking it's good to be alive, while others thinks they're dead......heh. 

Black-Lightniing Haha, yeah that would've been funny if she'd woken up. And yeah, Joey would have no problem finding her screams. Yup.  
Walis yeah, Kaiba's a weirdo. And don't imagine him with stubble, or you'll go nuts ! lol.  
Black Mistress They kissed ! That's what ! LOL.  
LazerWulf Joey won't be happy, that's for sure. Ah.  
LordoftheBloodyHand Yeah, he is mean, but I like how Serenity's sweetness always wins him over and tried to show that in my fics.

Thanks, y'all, to the rest too for reviewing. Until next time.....AllDay signing off. R&R


	12. Day Twelve: Not As They Seem !

A/n: okay ! I bow down to readers request; I was going have this as a crazy upmanship, but…..like I said.

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh!™ such a fine cast it is. End disclaimer.

**Day 12: Not As They Seem**

"Seto Kaiba's dead. I don't believe it. Search all the islands. One by one......"

"Yes, sir."

" The guy's had more attempts on his life than Saddam Hussien." Teeth glinted while they were picked at with a deadly sharp toothpick, "I want to make sure he's dead. If he's not, YOU make sure. Go look. Remember this guy has more lives than a cat."

"Yes. You can leave it to me, sir."

"Make sure you 'take care' of him." An ominous click.

&&&&

"I can't---I can't---_Hic_---I can't----"

"Joey, you can't think like that," Yugi said earnestly, comforting his disconsolate friend through his loud hiccups. "You have to believe she somewhere peaceful, and happy. That she misses you, but she knows you'll see her again someday. You have to believe that, too."

A loud runny sniff. "Yeah……she would miss m-me b-by now, wouldn't she….."

"Yeah," said Tea. "Or else, she's with Kaiba, having the time of her life, on a white sandy beach!" There was a pause as the four friends exchanged glances

They all laughed. "Yeah right, like that would ever happen!"

&&&&&&& Meanwhile &&&&&&

"That is our next task, Serenity."

Serenity followed where he was looking at upwards towards the tall palms. By squinting and putting her hands to cover over her eyes, (it was an unusually bright day) she could make out two reddish-brown orbs nestled in the thick, heavy fronds. "All the way up there?" she said as he moved forward.

It was true they were desperately out of food, and matches to cook it with. Comestibles that were non-perishable, like the crackers and dried canned fruit were best saved until later, and fire could be made another way. Or so he said; she had no idea how, though.

"You take this one, and I'll take another," he said, going to another palm. The sea rushed, a bird cawed out a lone tune.

"Easy for you to say; all you have to do to reach up," she mumbled. Being vertically challenged, getting to those coconuts would be like climbing up a glass mountain. Plus which, there were no branches or footholds on it; the 20 foot tan colored trunk wasn't going to yield easily.

"Very funny. That's why," he said, taking the trunk by the shoulders--if trunks had shoulders---and giving it a good shake. "You have to shake them out." The hairy round balls trembled violently, but did not move downwards.

"You're going to---" Suddenly, one did fall. "--get hit." She winced, but he managed to quickly move out of the way, it seemed, just in time. It would been bad, since those things were heavy, running at 25 mph on impact. Serenity saw the sand actually fly up as the coconut hit the sand with a plop; it rose nearly six feet. Jeez.

"Damn sand….." he muttered, rubbing his face as he knelt to pick up his prize. "….got in my eye…!" He heard a snicker, a single snicker, and turned to her, surprise. "Did you just laugh?" he accused.

"No." She studied her tree, her back turned, _suspiciously_, towards him. She couldn't stop her shoulders from shaking, though. He dodged the deadly coconut, only to get hit in the eye by sand of all things? It was too funny. She heard his footsteps, muffled by the soft sand.

"I'm, uh, thinking…..of how to get mine down, since I'm not strong enough to shake them," she explained, covering her mouth casually and not looking at him.

"Riiight. What's so amusing?"

"Well," she said looking up at him finally, although barely able to see because her cheeks were bunched up from smiling. "I….just saw you dodge the coconut, and it got you back….by hitting you with sand. It was funny. I know, I'm silly…." She felt her cheeks burn and it wasn't from the sun.

"You're right. You're silly. Why don't you try shaking them? It might work." He flashed her a smile, and went back to shake his own tree some more.

She tried, but she just wasn't strong enough. Plus, after getting hit on the air supply pack, she realized it was a halfhearted approach._ I don't think I'll be able to dodge so fast…._

He watched, knowing she wasn't strong enough, and that's why he'd suggested it. The last thing they needed was another injury. Brushing at his still stinging eye, he cracked the coconut on a sharp rock, causing a split. Another thrash, and it opened like a book. He quickly drank it, after only a quick inspection. There was no need to be picky.

I remember how I used to turn up my nose if my food wasn't warm enough…..now look at me, he thought ruefully. Scavenging around like a rodent……_oh well, there's no one here to see me, anyway._

Except for her…. he looked up as there was an "_Eeeep!"_ suddenly, followed by a sudden crash.

"Serenity!" he exclaimed, hoisting to his feet and running over to her aid.

A palm frond, big as a surfboard, had fallen, nearly on top of her. And she had the sense to close her eyes against the kicking sand. But it had scared her and she was shaking.

After seeing she was shaken but not stirred, he said, "Well….you're supposed to get the food, not the fan….."

"Fan?!" she said, stammering, looking down at it. A big hairy brown thing was attached. "Me, fan you……?!?!?!" He grinned, but she pointed down in fear. "There's something there! Seto!"

His gaze dropped down in surprise. "Oh, so you did get one. Congratulations." He reached for the coconut, but then it wriggled, Surprised, he snatched his hand back.

"Ooh, Ooh! Eee, Eee!" The furball screeched at him angrily, wriggling to get free, before leaping out. At him. Thanking God for quick reflexes, he swiped at it to scare it off. It worked.

"What was that thing?!" Serenity said wide-eyed, though she already knew.

"A bad tempered monkey," he answered anyway. "probably has rabies. That was close." Seto checked his hand to make sure the thing hadn't bitten him. That would be bad.

"Ooh, ooh! Eee, eee!" The monkey didn't like to be called bad-tempered, especially by the likes of him. It had returned with a vengeance! This time, it went directly at Serenity! Seto tried to swipe at it again to scare it, but it was too late….

"eee, eee!" She stiffened as the monkey hugged her around the neck, little anime hearts floating around it's face. Great. A boy monkey.

"Huhh…..huhh…" She tried not to breathe, or even move. Her eyes shot up pleadingly to Seto, who stared, feeling a case of de ja vu for some reason. "Get. Him. Off!"

_Oh, yeah._ "Don't move," he ordered her, again unnecessarily. He was afraid the thing would bite. "Here, furball. Want some yummy coconut?"

"Monkeys.....eat......bananas....." she breathed, holding her arms away as far as possible from it.

"Yeah, well, we don't have any....." the monkey accepted the coconut, releasing her and running up a tree nimbly, to eat it and peer at them with beady monkey eyes.

" 'Yummy?' " She raised an eyebrow as the creature disappeared. "Must be really good?"

"It is." He handed her a piece, and she washed down the coconut milk with some crackers, wishing hamburgers grew on trees. "Right?"

"Huh?"

"It's good, right?"

"Oh….yeah. Thank you." She gave him a smile and raised it in thanks. "You think…..we could catch some fish to eat as well?"

"Need a rod," he said shortly, looking towards the direction of the sea. It was as blue as his eyes, causing almost no reflection.

"Millennium Rod," she mumbled to herself as she walked away to shake the tree some more.

"Hm?"

Serenity ducked her head. "Nothing."

&&&&& Later &&&&&

Later, as the red hot sun dipped into the cool blue horizon, making steam rise. It was did really a bit muggy, and humid, as Serenity took off her windbreaker jacket, figuring it was better to cook than freeze in this ever-changing tropical weather. She went to the pond to stare at her reflection, and make sure she didn't have any funky stuff on her face. Outside, she had on a lilac colored tank top and kind of capri shorts. At least, that's what she figured them to be. It was hard to tell, they were two sizes too big and always on the verge of falling. She was a lot thinner now.

She found him scooping something from the sand, and found it was sea turtle eggs. Yuck……She didn't mind eggs, but…turtle eggs? Still, since he was obviously going through all this trouble……

Still, he caught her look---the look of when her nose crinkled, and she backed away. Seeing him seeing her, she quickly fixed her expression into one of polite interest. "Too late," he said abruptly, with a grin. "I saw it. You like turtle a la egg?"

"Turtle a la egg?" She repeated with a blink, the sunset colors painting her face as she swatted at mosquitoes, coming closer. They weren't as bad near the shore, when he gave a nod over his shoulder. "Shouldn't it be…..'egg a la turtle?' " she ventured. "Since…"

"Just sit down. Over there," he pointed to a bowing palm with the leaves pointing down. She heard him grumble, "Egg a la turtle…..ridiculous." _It is 'turtle a la egg!'…….Isn't it?_

"Yessir." She looked down, a big red lobster lay motionless, it's shell gleaming. Butter-and-bluish clams scattered with shiny mussels; she noticed that they were all stacked in a pile. A neat pile. Even the sand was swept painstakingly level. She touched one, and the lobster snapped at her hand!

"Ah!" she said, as he turned around. "Ah…..I'm going to get some water." A freshwater spring was right next to the bathing pond, he'd set some 'canteens' out to catch the water from the rain, also, really tin cans. "Be right back….."

"No. Stay. It's too dark already to go in the woods." He ordered over his shoulder, starting the fire up.

"Ummmm. Technically, Seto, they're not woods. There're no woods on an island…." He shot her a look and she immediately fell silent. "Okay, I'll stay!"

Throughout his protestations, she managed to cook up the eggs, folding them neatly like omelets---mmm, cheese, she thought longingly--- and he took care of the lobster. But when it started to look black, she suggested that maybe he ought to take it out. Very politely and helpfully way. And with the strap of her sleeveless shirt falling off one shoulder. So, no wonder he didn't listen. So, he had to eat black lobster (luckily, though, the meat inside wasn't too badly burned) and luckily, that wretched monkey didn't return. He would have to cook it, too, since they were both starving, and he didn't think she would take to that.

Full for the first time in a long time, they both fell against the bowing palm tree while she said, "Guess you liked that lobster, huh?"

"Not really." His hand touched his teeth. "I like eating blowfish better."

Her eyes widened. "The _poisonous_ fish?!"

He looked over with a small smile of impression. "I see you've been watching Discovery Channel. Yeah, that's right. But it's only poisonous if you don't cook it right. Soon, I daresay I'll be getting sick of seafood, however."

'Daresay?' She leaned back out of sight. "I don't--don't have cable, actually. It's from…..the Nature Channel."

"What's so funny now……?" Her voice was trembling with laughter, he heard it.

"Nothing. I'm just nervous. You know," she sat up straighter, looking up at him. "Sometimes you're a real hard person to figure out sometimes."

"I cold say the same for you," he shot back, suddenly, watching how the trees made patterns all around her lower leg and calf.

"What....do you mean?" she was shocked.

"Remember the first time, when I rescued you from the water?" he pointed up, and she saw the canopy of leaves. This was where they had met, about a week earlier. "Remember what you said?"

"I-I …….oh." She cringed, chagrined. "Oh, boy....." Embarrassed laughter fell out, and he rather liked it. Her laugh, that was.

"Hm, what was it again? From Wheeler's 'sweet' little sister?" he said, pretending to think. " _'What the fuck'_, was it?"

Slowly, she met his gaze. It was obvious how full of shame she felt about that. "Well……you scared me……Back. Then!"

"What?!"

Face burning, she went on, "I thought you were……my brother, t-that's who!"

"So that's how you greet your family. Hm. Sounds like mine."

"Oh……" She tossed some sand, dusting his feet. "Stuff some sand in it! You know it's not like that."

"So that's why I don't think you're as sweet as you look," he concluded, not about to be waylaid, while looking up at the glimmer on the horizon. The sky was a brilliant pink, a few dark outlines of birds flew straight out towards the bright yellow sun.

"That wasn't fair……" She sighed and yawned, a little tired from the days' events. "And you……you act all tough, but it's just an act. The first night, we were here, you gave me a blanket in the middle of the night….."

"You were shivering like crazy." He stated it like if it were a simple fact.

"So it's because of your _shiver-phobia_, eh?" she said teasingly. "Never heard of that phobia before…..plus you were crying when sand hit your eye…….how is it, anyway?" she questioned, getting up on her knees to get a closer look.

"All right……….and I _wasn't_ crying." he scoffed suddenly. "It just hurt…..for a while….then it passed…..um." Her little outline was illuminated by the nearby firelight as she came closer to get a better look. He leaned back automatically, a bit unsure, but didn't tell her to get off.

"It's a little red." Serenity nodded and shrugged. "You should you wash it out with some water."

"Just what I need," he murmured sarcastically, drinking a sip out of his coconut shell. "Salt water in my eye…..what next..... lemon juice?"

"I meant, fresh water, silly!" Suddenly, she realized how close they were, and how everything was still and quiet. "I guess…..we're both right. Things aren't always what they seem; and that goes for people…..as well."

He watched her lean back again, and put her hand in her coconut shell. "I guess."

The light from the fire dipped lower, nearly bathing them total darkness. Only the glimmer from reflected moonlight off the water was left. He could see her wipe off her hand on her shirt and the lovely, pale skin of her face come closer, visible even in the dark. Her large, dark eyes looked at him with pure concern in them, and he thought he'd never sawn anything like it before, or the _way_ it made him feel. Then she stumbled a little, falling to the side, when crawling over, to get closer.

"You okay?" He had gripped her arm to stop her fall.

"Yeah......I just stepped on something really hard." She rubbed her bruised knee; it wasn't exactly stepping, more like kneeing, but was too nervous to correct herself. He knew what she meant, anyway! Right? There was a short silence, then he replied with something.

"It was my coconut." It was hard to understand, because his voice came out so husky, and the ocean was rolling and crashing loudly, to the left, looking like liquid midnight milky sky.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She said, quickly backing off, putting out her hands behind her to stop from going in the sand with a stricken expression.

A puzzled look crossed his face, then it quickly cleared. "No, no......." Quickly, he explained.

She blushed a fiery red; the darkness turned red. "_Ohh_......I knew that." A soft snicker escaped, it was hard to tell who, most likely from Seto, and soon they were both laughing and chuckling, as the fire between them died down to embers, sending identical gleams off their faces' smiles.

& To Be Continued &

* * *

A/n: Heh, I never knew this couple could be so funny. I was going to write more, but to keep y'all in suspense...... is better !Okay, maybe this _will_ be an upmanship. Yep, I'm so mean.

Review, will you? :)


	13. Day Thirteen: Mind If I Take Advantage o...

A/n: Ah ! Thank you so much for reviewing ! You all make me update ! Truly ! Enjoy ! And, LW, 'upmanship' means when the romance is 'taken slowly.' Or so I've heard, anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own **YuGiOh**! ™ . . . end disclaimer.

"Talking"

_thoughts, emphasis_

###-- scene change

# Day Thirteen: Mind If I Take Advantage of You? # 

The flat eyes watched the two teenagers lying in the sand together. He had just arrived, and first marked his map. Then he prowled around in the nighttime stillness.

The boy was man in size, dressed in shorts and a very plain T shirt. Still, the man knew this was the infamous Kaiba. He was asleep, next to a much smaller girl, petite . . . and lovely in the light of the moon. They were side by side under a big palm frond, not touching except for the arm of the girl, which was flung out. She was also sleeping peacefully. An ocean breeze ruffled their hair.

I'll complete my mission later. First I have something to do first.

###

Seto's eyes snapped open suddenly.

What was that dream? He'd been dreaming that someone else was on the island with them, spying, watching. But that was impossible, no one knew that they were there . . . right?

Ow . . . He grimaced as he got up from his uncomfortable sitting position. Sand fell from his bare arms and legs. There were uncomfortable cricks on his neck that cracked as he stretched his back. What I'd give for Sonya, he thought. She was his personal masseuse . . .

Back home. . .

He then noticed Serenity stir. He hadn't known that she had been sleeping so . . . _close_. Stumbling a little, he hurried a safe distance away. She did the same things: Yawn, open her eyes, and stretch as he. Except she looked a lot better doing it. _Just a casual observation._ "Good morning!"she said.

A morning person . . . not something he was. Still, she was right, it was light-skyed outside, and the breeze was refreshing. And they were still alive. A bit windy, but no rain.

"Morning," he muttered, answering and staring into the horizon. He went towards the 'forest' to wash up; he still couldn't shake that dream off. I might as well take a look around to make sure of spies, he thought, dusting himself off as he walked. A satirical smile crossed his features.

I would tell her to stay put, but we all know that hasn't worked in the past, so . . .

###

"Why don't you sleep on the sand like me?" she said a few minutes later, joining him by the freshwater pond. It had rained a little last night, she got out the cans to catch water from the waterfall. He gave her a bit of a startled expression. "I saw you walk a bit stiffly," she explained, kneeling down.

He was thankful she wasn't washing too close. "A crab would crawl in my ear, with my luck," he grunted, patting his face dry with a clean cloth. She hadn't thought of that and felt her head to make sure nothing had gotten stuck or tangled in her long hair.. _Since our hammocks have been ruined, I'd better wash them and hang them out to dry,_ she thought. _It's pretty windy today_

She told him that, between gurgles, while she washed up. "So you won't be stiff and you don't have to sleep on the sand anymore. Okay?"

"Okay . . ."

He said it softly, while handing over their single bar of soap. He looked at her, but she was looking at the soap. "Looks like it's getting pretty puny," she remarked.

"I guess. I'll get breakfast started," he said, getting up and disappearing through the brush before she could respond.

They ate their meager breakfast (unsalted wheat crackers with cold water) by the shore a few minutes later. He wasn't that hungry, and she didn't seem to have an appetite either. Serenity was looking at the box longingly, knowing it was best to save food for later. He was still thinking of that man in his dream.

"We have scissors, don't we?" he asked abruptly. The slate-greyness of the sky nearly matched his shirt, making it disappear.

"Um . . . let me check." The pack of supplies was still safe, back in the little granite cave with the food. "I'm pretty sure," she called, "yes, yes we do."

Good, he thought. Insignificant against a gun or something like that, but at least it's something. _I didn't see anyone, but that doesn't mean they aren't there._ He frowned. "Still, it was just a dream."

"What? What dream?"

He jumped. Man, could she move as quietly as a mouse. Or maybe his nerves were shot. Her eyes were fixed on him as she handed him the scissors, waiting for him to answer. ". . . nothing, never mind." Seto decided that it was best not to let her worry about any spy. "Just . . . stay close for once."

"Okay," she said, amiable to this, sitting down not-too-far not-too-close beside an opposite tree. She'd fashioned a needle from a piece of wire and tore off a string from her jacket. Obviously, she planned to repair the hammock. It was pretty warm and humid day, muggy, so she left it to the side as she worked.

Shaking his head, he realized after a while she was curiously watching, wondering what he'd needed the scissors for. _I can't tell her that I suspect a spy. _So he started clipping the nails on his fingertips, as a diversion. They were getting a bit long, anyway. He cut and listened for anything other than the caw of seagulls, the ocean rush, and the soft click of the needle. "You better be careful," he warned. The last thing they needed was for her to prick her thumb.

"Oh, I am. I always darn my family's socks all of the time . . ." she paused. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to cut my hair, what does it look like." There was no mirror, not even something shiny to see his reflection off of. The wind howled. Plus, the scissors, small and metallic, looked like they were made for kindergartners! They cut into his thumb and were very uncomfortable.

"Er, need some help?" she offered from her post.

"No!" he said a little too harshly. The noise was too loud for her to hear, though. Oh well. Back to shaking it out of my eyes to see, he thought, letting his hands drop. But it could be dangerous not to see clear. " . . . " Especially if, his dream wasn't a lie . . . "How many years have you cut?" he said, looking her up and down, like at a job interview.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

"Um . . . a real long time," she said lamely, hoping it hadn't come out too sarcastically and suspecting he didn't want to hear anything else but that. What kind of question was that?

He said, "Good" and handed her the scissors. She wished she had bitten her tongue. Truth was, the only hair she'd cut was her own brother's and they all knew how _that_ had turned out! _Everyone_ knew how that had turned out.

Still, she reached out to take the scissors anyway. It fit a lot better on her much smaller one, but it was probably blunt as a pair of legs . . . as she opened his hand to take off the thumbhole from his finger, she noticed his hand was very large, compared, and the deep lines disappeared . . .

He was relieved when she finally took the darned scissors off. It must have been stuck; that was why for the delay. Seto suspected he'd made a mistake asking her. He _knew_ that he'd made a mistake when she drew closer and sat down right in front on him, in a kneel to reach his head, and touched him lightly, finger-combing his longish locks..

He had to fight the urge not to back off and lean away. This was _much_ too close; he could smell the lingering scent of soap on her creamy, pale skin. He tried to turn his head up, but that gave him a clear view of her neck and face; he tried to look left and right, but that would make him shake his head and the cut would come out wrong. Then he fixed his eyes down . . . but she was so close, all he could see was her very nice chest with it's highly-placed shelf . . .

I should have made her put her jacket back on--! The vision of her rising from the bath a few days earlier, naked as the day she was born . . . kept floating in his head. He started to picture leaning her back, and dotting her skin with kisses. Her choked gasping would be well worth it. A glance down at his hands brought him the horrifying news that they were inching, closer and closer, to her body. Slapping them helped, but only until they started on their quest again . . .

It got so bad that he had to literally sit on his hands._ Dirty thoughts. Bad thoughts. She's only a girl!_

He shut his eyes, then wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. The darkness was a welcome relief, and the gentle touch of her fingers through his hair made him feel very sleepy all the sudden. So relaxing . . . zzz . . .

Meanwhile, Serenity was having a hard time concentrating on her task too. In addition to her 'record', it didn't help that his face inched closer and closer to her neck, until his breath warmly caressed it, lightly and softly. _I could swear he's doing it on purpose_! The scissors slipped a bit._ Making me mess up. _She retained a firmer grip, trying to ignore the sensation, in vain. His fine, roasted-chestnut-colored hair was the fluffy kind that your fingers just _sank_, right through. It also did NOT help by choosing such a windy day to do this; the wind kept blowing it about. _God, how am I supposed to do this?_

She was trying to picture they way he looked before his hair got long enough to hang in his eyes--wait, didn't it always hang in his eyes?-- when, suddenly, Serenity felt a soft kiss, touch her neck like a pinprick. Gasping in shock, she quickly realized that he had fallen asleep, and merely leaned forward too far. She pushed at his shoulders so that he was leaning against the tree. Then she looked up again, and bit her lip. The sensation had made her cut off a piece of hair that should have stayed.

_Good thing there are no mirrors . . ._ was all she could think of. It looked horrible; dangerously crooked now. _But he shouldn't have done that! I know he was asleep, but sheesh. Scared me._

Serenity got out of her kneel to sit down instead, to prevent it from happening again. Besides, her legs were falling asleep, anyway. The blood that rushed into them was a welcome relief. Except, now she had a few problems. First, she had to reach up now more farther to reach his head. This she solved by folding her jacket up behind her back, and stuffing it underneath her and piling up the sand as well, so she was a bit taller. She sat up extra-straight as well. Second, she had no place to put her legs! They were too close to fold in front of her; he hadn't given her much room to without touching him. So she placed them over his, bent at the knee so they wouldn't be touching. At last, she started her concentration at cutting again.

But that was when Seto opened his eyes, slowly. It wasn't what it looked like, he knew, but it sure did look like she was wrapping her legs around his waist! "Are you done yet?!" he growled, making the scissors slip again from her grasp.

She felt like being an alien probed by that dazzlingly blue-opaled glare. "Almost," she squeaked, then clearing her throat. Another hair that should have stayed, as she watched, fluttered to his shoulder. And then to his chest. His eyes fell to her shoulder then; he could swear that the strap that was holding her tank top was getting flimsier before his eyes, so he forced his gaze up her slender, swan-like neck to her heart-shaped face as she hurried to finish. She had elfin features: dark, almond-shaped eyes, with an exotic curve at the corners, a small pixie nose, and peach-colored lips that looked enticingly kissable, even with her pink-bubblegum tongue that stuck out the corner of it as she concentrated on her task.

Oh, man. And couple that with my attraction to her . . . recipe for disaster. No doubt.

There was no doubt about that, but, anyway, his hands fell to the small of her back, pulling her closer, so they were only a hair's width apart. He told himself to stop, but he couldn't. His body seemed to have a new master's orders. Using a last resort, he started to think quickly, about everything she had done to him---it worked, but only for a moment--everything her family had done to him--nope--and then gross things, like-like bugs, cafeteria food sludge at school, the fact they hadn't bathed in a while . . .

The last one made him pause. _Whew._ Then _Nope_, only for a while; he'd started to then think about baths . . . with her . . .

"Would you stop staring at me? You're making me too nervous to cut properly," she said, glancing down at him and then looking back up.

Stunned, he continued to stare. She brushed all his hair over his eyes to make him stop. Sputtering, he shook his head so as to shake it out of his eyes--luckily, she hadn't been in the middle of a cut. A smile trembled and danced at one corner of her mouth.

He looked away, finally. Her rejection-sounding order had made him think of something in his past, something hurtful. Well, at least it made him stop his lustful thoughts. That was a relief. _Just keep thinking of it_ . . . when his stepfather, Gozaburo, had made him sit in a chair. Surprised, he had watched as straps encircled his wrists and banded his ankles as Gozaburo had droned, _"Never marry unless for money or a business deal . . . It's best to resist any womanly wiles, boy. Else, the company will surely crumble when she sucks it dry of funds. This will help quell that human side of you." _He then proceeded to show him graphic slides. If he showed any emotion, he would receive an electrical shock from the chair . . . until he showed not any . . .

Seto grimaced at the memory of the slides. His stepfather was a very sick man. Had been a very sick man. He had died because starting on Mokuba.

Mokuba . . . how was he doing . . . ? Probably with child services now, or worse, foster care . . .

And I was yelling at him when the tornado hit us at sea . . .

"Something wrong?" Serenity spoke for the first time in awhile. There was a scowl on his face, and also a great deal of pain. She also could feel the tension in his posture, and the way he didn't look at her at all suggested suffering. There was a big pause.

"Nothing . . . never mind." He took a deep breath, holding it in and swallowing. "I just have to get home, that's all.

"Away from me?" she teased.

"Yes. Away from you." He leaned back as far as he could, looking down from his nose for a long while as if sizing her up, his arms dropping. His old smirk returned. "I was thinking of maybe kissing you, but why would I want to kiss the likes of _you?"_

He had meant it as an insult, and she looked surprised at first, then quieted and glanced down at her fingernails. Good. Now she would back off and get off, and hopefully, wouldn't cry. _I hate it when they cry; drives me insane. _Then she spoke.

"Well . . . that's a good thing, then," she said in this flat tone. And then "Because _I_ don't have any qualms!" she launched herself at him and gave him a kiss, right on his smirk!

It was all done extremely to his surprise, and when she pulled away a bit, he could only gape at her for a split second; her smile was as bright as the sun on a cloudy day; it was hard to tell if she was embarrassed or not by her boldness. He took her hand, as they toppled over to the side on the floor and returned the smile, slightly, but surely.

She had only meant a peck, but it was clear he had other things in plan. Half on top of her and half not, he took the scissors and put it safely, the blades down, in the sand, his eyes locked on her all the while. She froze up and felt shivers run down her spine at the intensity of his gaze. Icy, intense gaze that seemed to see right into her. It seemed he was able to sommunicate everything he had to say with just a simple look. His hair hadn't come out very well, she'd done that best she could, but it looked kind of . . . short. Thank God there are aren't mirrors, she thought again, with an effort.

Because it seemed her brain was becoming fuzzy steadily. As was his. Despite his reservations, he still . . . wanted her and was confident she felt the same. She was scared, he could tell the way she shook when he dipped his head and ran kisses up the skin of her soft neck first, making her shiver all the harder. She's nervous, he thought, feeling it rack through his body. I'm not going to do anything to her . . . that I shouldn't, at least. But her arms clutched around his neck-- as if for dear life--even though she felt the soft sand at her back. He paused to look into her long, darkly lashed eyes for a long moment, warmly, his eyes soft, before zeroing back down to her delicately-shaped, plump lips; and pictured kissing them; softly, at first, then hard and deepening it. He cupped her chin, drawing it up slightly and she squirmed, but still held fast. His heart stopped; she looked so lovely; but hers beat faster as he drew extremely close again . . .

**Plop!**

Something hit the ground--a coconut-- and suddenly made him look up quickly, instinctively. If they hadn't fallen to the side earlier, it would have hit him on the head. There was a soft, screechy chatter right above, and as he looked up, he got a glimpse of a hairy tail in the trees. . .

"Excuse me," he mumbled, hoisting himself up. "I have to go catch dinner."

Serenity stared up, "Okay . . . I'll . . . just . . . wait . . . here. . . " to the air long after he hurried off.

That Night's Special: Monkey Head Stew.

To Be Continued.

* * *

A/n: Aw, they cooked the poor monkey ! Lol. I liked this chapter a lot, especially when she kissed his smirk right off. I always make the girl make the first move in all my fics. Refreshing change of pace. Even with the kind of depressing bit in the middle, I liked it. I felt I had to put it in; I don't like that Gozaburo anyway. He turned Kaiba into a robot. Then again, that is why I like Kaiba romance fics, because he learns to overcome what he's been taught, by that evil guy . . . anyway, be a doll and please review for me ! Muchos gracias ! 


	14. Day Fourteen: Run, Serenity Run!

A/n: Ah, that counter to hit 200. Thanks a lot !

"talking" _thoughts, emphasis_ # scene change #

_**Day Fourteen: Run, Serenity. Run!**_

"There . . . it's done."

It was mid-afternoon the next day, and Serenity sighed with relief, her shoulders aching. Wiping off her hands, she climbed into the newly set-up hammock with relish.

She'd just finished washing the blanket -- which was a really heavy cloth -- and tying it between two palms. It smelled soap-y, but it didn't fall, perfect for sleeping. She'd made it for Seto; so he wouldn't have to keep sleeping against a tree and hurting his back. The last thing she wanted was for him to get angry. Oh, and to break something.

She arched her back and stretched, and the hammock wobbled a bit in a passing ocean breeze. The sea was rolling and pulling back again; the tides were a sweet orange instead of a glittering yellow-and-brown swirl. Her hair was getting rather long. But she daren't complain out loud. _His_ hair looked even worse today than yesterday, when she did the actual mangling. And plus, last night, when he cooked the poor monkey he'd caught spying on them, she could swear he _cackled_ when he pulled the monkey's head down underneath the boiling water. It'd been a rather scary thing to observe! _I understand he was angry at the animal because the coconut could've caused some damage, but did he have to say, 'So this is the arm that threw the coconut, eh?' lookin' all insane?_

Frowning, puzzled, Serenity ran a confused hand through her long locks. Her changeable dark hazel eyes, green when the light was shining through them, studied a far-off island on the horizon's line. Maybe he had a double personality, like Joey said his best friend Yugi had. Half evil, half-nice. It was possible, since she'd already witnessed his 'nice' side, when yesterday on the beach . . . and he had looked straight into her eyes . . . with those dazzling sapphire orbs . . .

She felt a shivery tingle creep up the base of her spine at the sweet memory. Was it possible to feel happy, sad, and angry at the same time . . .? Because that was how she had _felt_, when he'd looked at her _so_ directly, like he was seeing through her soul. _So_ . . . -- her legs dangled, so she folded them up Indian-style -- what did it all _mean_? If it meant something at all. Did he like her too. He'd said so. But did he mean it? Did he even remember it?

Boys were such a confusing lot. I need to read the introduction . . . she thought, smiling wryly. _Boys for Dummies._

I need to read the introduction . . . she thought, smiling wryly. 

A tense look entered her expression then and she started to sweat again and Serenity's imagination ran away with her. And . . . what if, when they had no more food, would he dunk _her_ head underneath a vat of boiling water and make some Serenity Stew?

It was a ridiculous idea, but . . . she couldn't help worrying into a frenzy. _I mean, I like him and all, but he's a complete _savage_. I have to make sure he never finds out what I did to his hair or else I'll surely be on the menu. _She hoped he wasn't in the habit of running his hand through or touching his head, or else he'd surely find out. More than once, he'd mentioned a breeze when they woke up. _Besides, it wasn't my fault! I did the best I could! The wind kept _blowing_, and his icy cool breath kept_ blowing _on my neck, distracting me . . . sending all these tingles down my spine . . . but_ why_ did it distract me, I can't imagine . . ._

_Oh well,_ she comforted herself, _the explosion of discovery beforehand will alert, and I'll have time to run before -- I don't know, he cuts_ my_ hair off . . . 'As revenge' . . . boys seem to have a_ thing _with_ _**revenge**_ --

". . . Oh. So you finished, did you?"

Seto's deep baritone cut through her thoughts, sending them into an abrupt, spinning halt. She was so busy sweating bullets and pondering doom that she hadn't noticed he was standing right in front of her.

There she goes, off in her own little world again, he thought as he approached with what he thought was a friendly smile. . . . apparently not.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted without thinking, "Please don't eat me!" complete with bow and flinch. Or, more accurately, still thinking about 'the Serenity Stew.'

Now, that wasn't the cleverest moment of her life. He walked away while giving her a strange look, like she'd lost her mind. She was alone again. As she was whacking her forehead subsequently against her palm, telling herself that he'd meant the _hammock_, wasn't referring to ANYTHING about his hair, one of the knots on the palm gave way.

Luckily, the soft sand broke her fall.

_Sigh._

# Meanwhile #

That girl is weird, Seto thought as he pensively stared into the sky, looking for any thunderclouds, signs of a storm, and a rescue plane. _She must've hit her head on some debris too many times when the tornado struck and spat us both out here._ He didn't even want to know what she was talking about. It was obvious it was something bad against him, and there was no paranoia about it. _Maybe I shouldn't have been so viciously enoying cooking that blasted monkey, but . . . _there he was, had finally worked up his nerve, and the stupid thing interrupts! _And maybe I shouldn't have made her eat my stew, but . . . oh well. _Better than starving.

Yawning deeply -- the ocean's constant motion was tiring to watch, he picked up some shells and threw them out into the ocean, watching them skip. _Huh. I've never done that before. Funny things happen when you try things . . . for the first time. Like last night. I could _swear_ the monkey was laughing at me . . . pointing at my head --_

Puzzled, he ran a quick hand through his hair.

Luckily, he didn't feel a thing.

# Meanwhile #

Having put up the hammock for the second time, Serenity decided _not_ to get in it again. Instead, she walked towards the shore.

"S-seto . . .?"

She let out a _whew_ when she saw he was asleep. Leaning against a tree, as usual. She wasn't sure why she was _whew_ing. What was she supposed to say? Whatever it was, it was sure to come out even more dorky.

But since he was asleep, she didn't have to explain. Or even say anything. Taking advantage of his nap, she decided to take this opportunity to try and fix up her 'mistake.' Giving him a little push, she settled his head gently on her cross-legged lap, so as not to wake him and took out the scissors where they were still stuck straight up in the fine peach-colored sand where they'd been left.

This was _very_ risky, since he could very well wake up any moment, and he wasn't a fool; seeing her was scissors in her hand would make him wonder what the hell she was doing. But she wouldn't, if it weren't absolutely necessary! And it was.

She worked up the nerve, taking deep calm breaths. He wasn't awake to divert her concentration now, and the wind was barely above a light gust. _I'd better be quick about it, though._

Why is my hand shaking like that? Calm down, Serenity; or you'll make it worse!

Hesitatingly, she began to snip away, pausing every now and then . . . The sun was going down, slowly, looking like molten gold in the bright pink sky . . . She began to daydream, about when she was little and had read about skies like these only in books . . . She had been a bookworm, then, and still was . . . The gift of sight . . . It was still appreciated, especially to watch scenes so beautiful like these.

Like a child that had drifted off while his mommy read him a story, Serenity could feel herself drifting off, in a world of fantasy. Her imagination had stayed with her throughout her childhood. It was becoming a sort of a problem, ever since she would daydream about a person _while_ talking to them! Still, that didn't stop her from getting excellent grades in school.

She just daydreamed up the answers to the tests! Easy to solve enough.

But now it was a problem! Looking down, sometime later -- the last glimmers of sunlight were just about to leave for the evening --, she came down from Mars and discovered with horror what her little 'dawdling' _problem_ had made her do.

She had made little French braids, and what seemed like a bald patch on one side._ Oh, no! Me and my fatuous fantasizing . . . jeez, Serenity, you are the stupidest person to walk the earth . . ._

Even worse, he started to stir. Frozen with terror, she did manage to hide the scissors before he opened his eyes, with a start. She just hoped that she could wipe off the guilty look off her face in time.

"What . . . are you doing?" He was suspicous like anything.

"I -- I --" She groped around for an excuse while groping behind her to peel the telltale evidence from her fingers. " -- saw you sleeping, a-and thought you'd get a stiff back," she babbled, "and thought you'd like to lay down. That's a-all."

Luckily, he didn't notice her obvious nervousness or any guilt whatsoever. She looked like an angel that descended from the clouds above. From his upside-down viewpoint, behind her. She was a painting from an old master's work. Her long auburn hair was nearly the same color as the last few remaining rays, and her peach complexion was painted slightly pink, with a few dusting cute freckles that indicated she was a natural redhead. Even though, her dark brown eyes and the sweep of her impossibly long lashes stood out in unmistakable contrast. Her face was the sweetest thing to wake up to in his life was the only thought in his head just then.

He didn't move, and spoke in a husky croak, "I . . . was dreaming about you . . ." He reached for her, kind of clumsily since it was upside-down. "Kiss me."

"Oka-ay!" she breathed a little too eagerly, touched by what he said and eager to take his mind from dangerous things. As she bent down a little awkwardly, since it was hard to bend that way, she managed to do it. _Good thing I take gymnastics._ Discreetly, she managed to undo the French braids under the pretense of running-one's-fingers move. Again, it was awkward to do upside-down, but she managed it.

God, he was a handsome devil. Even with his hair slightly crimped, like a perm. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she pulled away and he pushed himself back up to sit. "And cute. He's got the bluest eyes I've ever seen." Especially with the sun filtering through them, the last weak rays make them shine as if with their own light.

Too late, she realized she'd said what should've been silent _out loud_. If any possible, she burned up even more like a fever. _God . . . just eat me now . . ._

"You have lovely-colored eyes also." He was amused by her embarrassment, the sun behind him but his eyes were shining. "At times, they're dark green, but at other times . . . they're brown . . .?" He raised his dark newly uncovered eyebrows questioningly.

Serenity bit her lip. He was being so nice and sweet; she was tempted to blurt out the truth. "That's why they're called um, hazel," she said studying her lap.

"Ah. Hazel." He lifted her chin to admire them one last time, and then got up, smiling. "I'll be back." And then he left. Phew.

Serenity sat there for a long while and then shivered, suddenly feeling a sharp dread.

# Bit later #

"There," he muttered, finished breaking up the stems finally. He walked over to the stream to wash up. Dipping his hands in the fresh, cool water, he splashed in onto his face. _Brr. Cold. Why is it so cold?_ he wondered absently. It wasn't this way before. Maybe it was because he had felt so warm earlier, and the shock of any temperature was enough to chill him.

A fond look entered his eye, and he absently patted his face dry. _Great. Now I'm daydreaming like her like a sap. _Well, that kiss had been something; it had even surprised him. Even more so than the first one. _People think I'm never happy, but I am._ _I don't know why, but I feel a different kind of happiness when I'm with her . . . not my usual sinister kind . . . _

Oh God . . . I'm obessessing like a teenager! He bent and covered his face with his hands, not feeling who he was anymore. I'm going nuts. Taking away his fingers, he sighted into the water . . .

. . . at his _reflection_ . . .

The last few rays of daylight were just disappearing, but not before he caught a glimpse of his reflection.

"My HAIR!!!"

Horrified, he touched his head again and again in the now moonless night. It was HORRIBLE. _What did she DO? It looks like I've got mange! _After a stunned moment, he began to breathe very rapidly. With each breath, he got angrier and angrier. _Why that --! She said she knew what she was DOING! Then, she must've done this on PURPOSE!_

Cursing under his breath, his first instinct was to wait for her to fall asleep, and snip all her pretty hair off. But that would be childish. Even though she deserved it. It looked that bad!

Instead, another plan formed in his mind, a better one, as he recalled something she'd said earlier. Still breathing very hard, he clenched his fists in tight balls and moved slowly through the brush, like a predator. A smile twisted and he saw _red_. But he'd put it off till tomorrow; and let her tremble tonight. No doubt she'd heard his scream and made a run for it.

After all, although he was portrayed as cruel and sadistic, he _did_ have a sense of humor.

A _cruel and sadistic_ sense of humor.

To bE conTinUed

* * *


	15. Day Fifteen: Out of the Frying Pan, Into...

**A/n:** Hey, hope you're having a good morning, day, afternoon or night. Uh, sorry for the wait (has it really been a month?) 30. Wow. Anyway, some of you said how Kaiba was acting vain about his haircut. Well, it's really horrible-looking Think of your worst haircut and times it by 1000. ...Yeah.Kaiba having the neatest hair out of all of the characters, I couldn't resistI drew him and it's funny, he still looks so fine... Leave your e-mail and I'll get it to you so you can see if you want.

**Disclaimer:** AllDay Doesn't Own YuGiOh…end disclaimer.

****

Day Fifteen: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

_Morning…._

She crouched by the big rock, eyes fixed straight ahead. Eyes wide and unblinking, she took in the sight before her. Hidden by the flora and fauna, she _made_ sure she wasn't seen. For, if she was…

A boy walked into the clearing. It was Seto. _Duh, like there's no one else, here…_ Serenity crouched lower still, watching. He moved with purpose, and with grace. Even in a plain white T-shirt and shorts that came up to his knee. She couldn't help admiring the strong set of his powerful shoulders; the line that went from it to the ground was perfectly obtuse. Even in plainclothes.

Silently and slowly, Serenity crept along in the thick, murky swamp, feeling like an explorer about to discover an unknown species. Or go into unknown territory, whichever. The water was cold and she was waist-deep, and she could feel slimy things all over her legs and arms, but she had no choice. She sank lower until she was shoulder deep now, glad she'd pulled back her long hair in a messy bun with some scrap string she'd found lying around. The "uncharted region" was Seto, walking slowly, a few feet away, on an uncharted island, the leaves and brush bowing down as he moved past them. She knew their feeling; she was in hiding. Even with variant eyes, dark green now, didn't blink as she held her breath and ducking her head out of sight. His laser-like gaze swept over her whereabouts, and moved on. _Whew_. Serenity gulped a silent breath, her watchfulness still alert. It feels like I'm on _safari_, and he's an elephant. _A rampaging elephant. Or a wildebeest_. Her thoughts started wandering_. Rampaging because of you, Serenity. He's looking for YOU. And not to have a cup of tea. He's probably wants to -- no, I won't even think it._

Then his head came into view.

Oh, my God...dess…

It was all because of yesterday. The _OH MY GOD, MY HAIR_ thing. Safely behind a tall brush, Serenity bit her lip hard. It was true… and this day didn't help it much. _Yesterday…_ She hadn't realized just how bad it was! It looked perfect…perfectly mutilated. Chunks of it were hanging off, looking like the work of a lawnmower. And it didn't help -- it REALLY didn't -- that today was a _very, _extremely humid day today. The still-long parts were all frizzled, like someone had teased it blindly. Corkscrews popped out everywhere, with no rhyme or reason, like the springs from a smashed telephone. All in all, he looked like he'd jammed his fingertips into a socket and went zzzt! Zap! Zap!

And that was why she still dogged his step. _H-ha...With that angry-at-the-world expression, he looks like a supermodel showing off the Afro-puff_. And to her absolute horror, a snickering snort escaped her nose and throat_. OMG, Serenity, you do this to him, and you laugh?! You're just horrible!_ In the event of trying to keep quiet, she ducked her chin ear-deep into the pond. Glubbing, bubbles floated up before her tightly shut eyes. She tried to stop laughing, but it was like stopping a freight train. Surely, he'd heard. Later, she would wonder where it came from -- usually she wasn't this mean. He didn't turn. _Phew, he didn't hear. I thought --_

As he was starting to leave, he said, loftily, "You know, there are _leeches_ in that pond..."

Letting out a muffled scream, she jumped out -- in complete instinct. And sputtering and jumping up and dancing and waving her arms didn't exactly scream cool. But the only thought in her head was, Were _those_ the slimy things, I felt down there?! Besides he'd already left, when she looked up to see.

Her legs and arms were leech-free, the _liar_. It had only been a piece of algae.

Grumping, she stomped off like a wet, angry cat and spent the rest of the afternoon picking juicy berries and sulking in the bushes. She wasn't sure why she was mad. All she knew was that she was tired of being scared to death out here.

From her perch on the ledge, which she nicknamed _The Really High Cliff_, she could she a tiny ant-sized version of him working on something, by the beach. For the first time she she'd come to the island, she felt really miserable and lonely. She missed her family terribly. _They probably think I'm dead, and are sobbing at my funeral right now. I wish I were._

Suddenly, she heard a sound of movement from behind. _But if Seto is working on the beach, then who is…? _She turned quickly, her heart jarring somewhere up in her throat.

There was nobody there.

Heart still hammering, she turned slowly back, still not fully convinced. "You're seeing things, Seren," she mumbled, and left it at that. The sun dipped down in red and gold beneath the horizon. Her mood turned even darker subtly. Starting to grasp at optimism and ignoring the rumbling of her stomach, she thought, _I might wish I'm dead, but I'm not. And as long as I'm not, I'll still strive to survive. That's _it_! Leaving me all alone up here, with even checking once! To see if I'm okay! What kind of man is he! He's no man! And if he's no man, he's -- logically, a girl…and girls wouldn't play mean..._

Fired up, she got up and started making her way down to the beach. It isn't _enough_ I have to battle dehydration and starvation, right?! _I'm not going to have to battle with HIM, either_. Her steps slowed almost to a halt when in the vicinity of the quarry. The monkey's screaming kept flashing in her mind, as if coming back from the grave to warn her._Eeee! Eeeee!_

_Maybe I should have fixed myself up first. _Wisps of hair were escaping the bun, and her whole body shook with cold and fear. _Maybe I should go take a bath. Maybe since its night, I'll get lucky and catch pneumonia! Maybe he's fixing a pot for me-stew._

No, it was now or never. Gulping a breath, she opened her mouth to say hey. "H -- "

And then stopped when she saw it. _'It_.' The pot before him. It looked just like the one he cooked the monkey in. Eep!!

Breaking the silence, he turned. "Oh, there you are. I was just about to call on you. Won't you join me for dinner?" His tone was casual and pleasant, like he didn't notice her eyes nearly as big as basketballs. "Oh, that?" He still used the nonchalant manner. "It's a surprise I've been working on _all day_."

"…" Squeak.

"Aren't you going to ask what it is?" he said pleasantly.

Squeak, came out her mouth.

"I guess that means yes. Keep in mind, it's _just for you_."

All he needed was the thunder-boom right about now and he was set.

"I found this vat in the wreckage," he went on, inhaling sharp and deep, "And I thought, what can I do for my good little friend Serenity, after all she's done to me -- um, for me."

She heard none of it. Her terrified expression went from the man-sized vat to him, clutching her fingers at her face.

He was smiling, but it wasn't quite reaching his eyes. _It wasn't reaching his eyes!_ "So," he sighed, "I decided that since, there is no hot water on the island, to heat some up and let you have a hot bath." He crossed her fingers and rocked slightly back on his heels. "Aren't I nice?"

"Um…that, um…." That 'um' sounded relatively calm, considering the velocity her knees were shaking. She forced herself to stop and repeated slowly. "A bath."

"That's what I said, isn't it?" His smile dropped. "And you need one. Trust me. You _smell_. And -- " He pointed to his hair. She froze, then touched her own hair. There was a piece of algae still in it. He saw her fingers shake as she plucked it off and smirked… inwardly. Her shirt was all stained with red berries, not to mention her cheeks. He thought she still looked not bad. Better than me, he thought viciously. Wetting down his hair had helped flatten it, but when it was dried--Opening his mouth, he looked away and took a deep breath. "So, go on and get in. I'll leave you your privacy. I'll be back in a second." He brushed past.

"Um…" she said to the darkness. She was alone, and suddenly everything was eerily silent. "Well…. he really doesn't take no for an answer!" she said to an adjacent tree, who didn't answer. _And yeah right, does he really expect me to believe that he's all right and forgiven me?_ Like, _Nooo, buster!_ Clutching her arms helped lift the tension from her shoulders. _Then again…he did sort of…warn me…about leeches earlier…maybe he really thought they were?_

Glancing around, she started to walk curiously toward the vat. It was big, big enough for two, and filled almost to the brim with glittering depths. It must have been lethal to lug in all that water from the freshwater pond, since the pond was in way deep in the 'forest.' Judging the distance, she help her breath, pinched her nose and jumped inside.

SPLASH!

Most of the hard labored water accidentally splashed out, wetting the sand. A sizzle and a pop greeted her as she broke the surface, gasping, and her face slick and wet. It was the fire from beneath, but she didn't know that. Looking around, she stared into the moonless night, darker than pitch-black ink. There was light coming from underneath the pot -- er, the vat._I guess since this is supposed to be a bath I ought to take off my clothes…but…_ She sighed and rested the back of her neck on the brim. It felt wonderful, simply divine…the stinging of the cuts from lashing vines on her arms and legs faded away, the stiffness from crouching all day in the lagoon and sleeping in a tree last night on her back was eased away. Serenity gulped in some water -- yep, definitely freshwater all right -- and blew it out like a fountain. She sighed and gazed up at the starless sky. No, there were two or three pinpoints, albeit weak ones…A cool breeze whispered through, ruffling her messy hair. Serenity leaned back. This was a perfect idea. She must thank him later…really must.

"Not too hot?" There was a _ting_. His voice startled her for a good minute. She had forgotten about him.

"Oh…yes…I mean, no…" Turning her head to where she thought his voice was coming from -- it really was pitch dark -- she stared at him warily, hugging her knees, nearly slipping. "I-it's okay. So, you're not mad about, uh…you know?" She jerked her hand up, to her own head.

"Oh, the bereavement of my hair, you mean?" He said casually, his fingers clenched on the dish he held. The weak fire below lit his face and made him look even more dangerously unbalanced. He bared his teeth in a travesty of a smile. "_No_, no, _no_, no," he turned, his voice muffled. "_No_, no, _no_, no…"

_Oh yeah, I sound really convincing!_ He continued to say "No, no, no" constantly and continually as he walked over. But he didn't really care whether he sounded reasonable. His eyes, still cobalt even in the weak light, met hers. Briefly, because such casualness made her duck her head down. Ergo, her response came out as nothing but a bunch of bubbles. "What?"

"I said," she said, quickly but not before looking away, " 'what to do you have there?' "

"_After_ that."

Now he was smiling! For real, this time. "Uh…. You have a really nice smile?"

He doubted it, both that that was really 'it' and the genuineness of that statement. Her face was steaming just as hot as the pot, er vat, as he turned around again. "Where is it… Ah, here." He threw some more logs into the fire, making it flare up, like Hades.

Mumbling again…._ Boy, it's hot._ Serenity started to squirm in the heat. "Y-you know…if I never known you before, I would think I was being cooked…! Ha! Ha! Ha. Ha..."

His head jerked upwards. Biting his lip, he was just barely able to keep it in. Actually, she had given him the idea, yesterday, when she had screamed in his face, _'Eep! Don't EAT me!'_ He hadn't known what the blazes she'd been talking about then, but soon figured it out. After he saw his reflection, and come up with a plan.

Of course, he wasn't really going to eat her. But only make her think she was. Ah. Revenge was sweet. Like a big red juicy berry. "Ha-ha! But that's funny, right? _Right_?" _Why isn't he laughing? He's starting to scare me… And turn down the heat!_ She could barely breathe as the steam rose up, choking, trying both to laugh and make him laugh along with her.

Finally he did laugh, shortly. "Cooking! You. That's _silly_."

And then he brushed in something that looked like chopped vegetables in the pot.

Her mouth opened her eyes grew enormously in her suddenly-pale face. "T-t-then, What-what --"

She should have run far away right then, and maybe swam to the next island, but her faith in humanity and, that cannibalism was extinct, made her stay. That, and she was paralyzed with fear.

Ever the calm one, he said: "That? Oh, that's for fragrance." He took up a long stick and stirred it. "Smells _nice_, doesn't it?"

Only a high-pitched squeak came out as the stick poked her…. lightly…. Like--like--like -- as if he were testing to see how plump her leg was!

Obviously, he wasn't noticing she was about to bolt. Seto was too busy trying not to laugh, broad shoulder shaking futilely. He continued stirring the "brew", this time carefully avoiding her bare arms and legs. A little stab of conscience got to him, though. _I guess I should stop the charade…but this is so MUCH fun. _

_Okay, one more, and I'll stop. I swear…he bargained with it. NOT!_ Said a little evil voice, fighting his conscience. He began to laugh, throwing back his head that made the little hairs on the back of her neck rise.

"W-w-w-what's so funny?" she whimpered and whined pitifully, close to sobbing. "W-w-why are you laughing like that?!?!?! Tell meee!" The pot was frothing and bubbling madly, and she began to feel slightly dizzy.

He couldn't go on. "At your face, silly. It looks like you're about to break down and blubber. Crying about being cooked! Ha Ha!"

She gasped. "W-what do you mean!" She didn't like to be laughed at as much as the next person. She stood up, in anger.

"You idiot! …I'm not going to cook you! Now sit!"

"What?" She sat down slowly, taking in his words for absorption and analysis. Then, she let out a sigh of relief. Last, she shot up again. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Seto was taken aback by the murderous tone, and by the way she rushed at him so fast in pure rage. "I told you -- sit down! You're going to fall!"

"Whoa." His prediction nearly came through. Water splashed out the edge, dousing the fire beneath. There was a loud sizzling roar and steam rose in a thick fog. She gave a cough and sputtered, trying to climb out. Catching her breath again, she continued to shriek, "That was a _mean_ joke -- and I hate you -- and I wish -- you were dead!"

He could feel her little fists pummeling him in the darkness. She certainly packed a wallop. "Hey, do you think I _like_ walking around, looking like this? How am I supposed to go home now? Huh?!"

"You said…you were okay with it!"

"I LIED!"

"…" She stood back, stunned by the way he'd just yelled point blank in her face. "_Obviously_." There was a silence in which the waves on the beach didn't even roll. "Are you," she said, her voice shaking with anger instead of fear now, "sooo _obsessed_ with revenge that you'd waste our last -- matchstick on me? Do you hate me that much?"

He didn't answer, for a minute. "Yes. Yes." He turned towards the dying fire. Briefly he wondered, How did she know it was the last one--? _She must've counted._ "Are you happy now? You got me to admit it." He lifted his head post-silence. "Now put on some clothes, already!"

"Don't blame me for this," she said, to salvage her pride because she forgotten she was…. well, you know. Wondering if he could see in the dark, she covered herself with her arms (just in case) and walked behind the pot, er vat. "Ack!"

_What now? "_What now?"

She really started to cry then. "M-my clothes!" Awfully, she lifted the charred remains of her top and shorts. After carefully washing them and laundering them, they had been reduced to rubble.

Maybe it was silly to be so emotional over some scraps of cloth, but it was the only thing she had. And now, nothing. Boo hoo hoo….

"Let me see." He said with a reluctant sigh. _Thwap!_ A second later, it hit him on the side of his face. "Would you quit that," he hollered, temper rising, as he held the scraps up close for inspection. He started to suspect she suspected he could see well in the dark by then. It was true -- partly. Serenity kept herself hid behind the pot -- er, vat. Outrage flared up again when she heard chuckling. "Hmm," he grunted, "You've must put them too close to the fire."

"What are you laughing at! It's not funny! _What am I supposed to wear_!" she shrieked.

"Don't get a knot in your shorts, get it...?"he held up the tattered remains, "Anyway, I'll crack a coconut in halves so you can wear a coconut bra."

"WHY YOU--!" Now, Serenity, true to her name, wasn't, exactly, a violent person. Except when she was REALLY angry. Then even Joey stayed out of her way. Fortunately, she wasn't angry often. But to see him standing vulgarly, smirking, was really, more than anyone could take.

She threw an absolute fit.

"First, you scare me witless -- " she rushed at him and started pummeling him -- kicking this time, since her arms were used for hiding her chest -- "then you laugh at m-my m-misfortunes--!" Tears ran down her cheeks. "Take that and that-and some of that, too-- in your-you-know-whats!"

He dodged just in time before she could get him again. "I'll do what I want, little girl! Do you get it?! What are you going to do, tell me you hate me? You've already done that." He sneered, "and if you kick me one more time -- I'm going to strangle you and then _really have you for supper_!" he screamed, hoarse.

She was too far-gone. Even her hands released herself to slap him silly in the gut. It hurt. "I…. AM…. _NOT_ LITTLE! " she roared though itcame out a whisper, playing upon one of her pet peeves to give more reason to hit him. She really _did_ want to kill him. "Jerk! You jerk..." Suddenly, she was exhausted and spent and it was over. Arms went around her at the same time, tight....

To be continued…

* * *

**A/n:** (smirks) I'll leave you all there in this two-part series. Just when things are… _heating_ up, Lol. You may throw a piece of cloth at me. You may also call me mean. Just so you review. 


	16. Day Sixteen: Adam and Eve in the Garden ...

**A/n: **Wow these reviews. Well, I'm still making revisions on this, but who says I can't update as well:) Welcome to the conclusion of this two part series. Even though it is says day 16, it's a continuation of day 15 still.

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Yu-gi-oh, no money was made from this fiction._

_-_

_-_

**Day Sixteen: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden**

-

-

The night was quiet and serene. The dark ocean carried a faint glimmer of starlight and reached for the shore. The white sand contrasted sharply with the dark, reaching waters, as if resisting its pull. It seemed to dance out of the ocean's reach, as if mocking. But eventually, the sand surrendered and eroded with the swirling dark waters.

The tiny, uncharted island was beautiful, even after the sun went down over the horizon. Black sea reflected the black sky uncertainly, as if unsure if it wasn't the other way around . . .? . . . Only the white strip of shoreline showed. Indeed, it was a skirmish of two intense colors, black and white, with only the gray of the smoky-clouds and softening the blurred edges of white.

Clouds swirled overhead madly. "I wanna go home! We're not gonna make it! We're gonna _die_ here!" Serenity breathed, covering her face up. Control, kept in a tissue-thin barrier was slipping away, in lieu of the nights' events. Having been stuck for over two weeks now, the supplies had finally run out. "What-what-what'll get us first!" she cried hysterically. "Hypothermia? Starvation?"

"We're not going to die. Listen to me. We're going to go . . .soon--!" It is my fault-- he thought, wrapping his arms around her and holding her soothingly. _I guess . . .I did go overboard . . .I _guess. Seto didn't want to admit that he'd done something wrong, even if for soothing measures. _I GUESS. And I guess I shouldn't have stopped her from being rescued by her brother that time . . . at least she wouldn't be so miserable, _nowI_ don't mind._

Instead, he ran fingers down her back, over her spinal cord, in a caress. She leaned ever into him for solace, like a baby leans towards its mother . Their earlier spat seemed to havebeen forgotten. As he held her tighter still, he felt something suddenly dig sharply into his chest and realizing, he oh-so-casually released her with one hand to readjust the chain hanging around his neck. Her body felt cold without his impress; just then, she blinked. And noticed that he was still fully clothed--in khaki jeans and a white T-shirt, whereas _she_ didn't have even a stitch to her name. It was a major encumbrance.

Springing back with a panicked yelp, she immediately regretted doing so. Just a few moments before, it had been pitch-black dark and now, the stars were so _many_ and so numerous and were all brightly shining. Aspotlight had been hit. Okay, maybe not as _bright_ as a spotlight, but pretty close enough to give the shore a surreal appearance.

A long awkward silence as she reajusted her arms around her torso, eyes shimmering.

"Sorry . . .I guess I shouldn't have given you comfort." He said a little snippily, but not very, staring down at those big doe eyes, complete with Caught-in-the-Headlights Expression. A smile of pure amused arrogance broke the building tension. "I don't know what's the point in trying to cover up . . .there's nothing I haven't seen . . . _before_ . . ."

She shivered at his whispered statement, deciding to ignore it so they wouldn't argue, but all the same wishing she had a third hand to slap him on the face. "What are you looking at?" she challenged instead, wishing that her voice . . . didn't _squeak_ at the end or her _cheeks_ didn't burn red. _Leer_ or ogle she would have said instead, except she didn't want to hurt his feelings. _I guess he WAS trying to 'comfort' me . . .and not coerce me . . . into doing something I didn't want to do._ Her arms slackened, and even her hair seemed to droop, knittingfrom its still-messy bun. Wisps of it brushed her ethereal-like pale skin, on her shoulders, and he found himself thinking thoughts he'd never thought about a female. Like: she's got the . . .cutest bellybutton I've ever seen. And-- _nice legs too._. . .What was he thinking? He wasn't the type to think these things. He gave himself a mental slap. Dragging his gaze, he forced it on her face instead and, realized her lips were moving.

" . . .sorry . . ." She moved away and sat down, right beside the charred remains of her clothes and the big metal basin in the sand. "I guess . . .I have this _thing_ . . .bout being touched . . . By someone . . .other than my family, I mean." With a heavy sigh, she drew in her knees and rested her chin on them. _I have a feeling this is going to be a bad thing _but_ it explains a lot._ After a pause, he came down and sat next to her, impassive and curious. After another long moment, she spoke, finally, again in a hollow voice that seems like she was speaking to herself. "I'll have to trust you . . .okay, see, it's like this . . ." As always, her mind started to wander, whenever she was close to revealing personal stuff. It became _hard_ to keep focus. "My uncle used to..." A breath shuddered its way in. "And since then . . . I can't stand to be touched . . .like_ that. _You know?" Her fingers played with a shell that scuttled sideways from grip.

"I…see." he said quietly; even though she hadn't articulated the remains, it was all there in her voice and face. With her imagination, he might've though she had imagined this too, but for the fact that it explains a lot. Like when everytime he'd try to kiss her, she'd squirm away. _I knew it wasn't because of me; what girl wouldn't? _Even now, she was looking away at the rolling waters swishing by. His head turned that way also, suddenly wishing that she hadn't revealed this part of herself. If anything, it made her even more attractive. They watched, as the water seemed to fold on itself. He was thinking everything his own father did to him, though _now;_ it seemed less disgusting to what a delicate child went through . . .especially a _girl_ child; he got angry on her behalf. Meanwhile, Serenity thought that that was enough sharing, for _her_, and smiled up. _His turn._ But before she got out a word, he turned suddenly.

"And where is he _now_? Your uncle."

His briskness and sharp tone startled her. "Um—" Nervously, she tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Somewhere in Florida—o-on some beach, —with his wife, I guess."

"Didn't you _tell_ anyone!"

"Didn't you anyone!" 

"Well . . .no . . .I was too ashamed." She wasn't sounding too concerned about it, just accepting. "So, what about—"

"You should've said something!"

"Only Joey knows. My parents were kind of stupid. So, anyway," she stared at him, sideways, "what about your parents?" She smiled beautifully curving the corners of her lips. "How are they?"

His mind was eventually drawn back, to the swift topic change. "They're dead," he said shortly. _Good riddance._

"Oh . . .I'm sorry." She had meant it in an _Are they nice?_ sort of way, not 'healthwise.' "Umm . . ." _How awkward he made things._

"Don't be." His knuckles whitened. "They weren't nice."

"Not even...your mother?"

Surprise question. "Mother." He took a clump of grass by the roots and rubbed it between his forefinger and thumb thoughtfully, but still scowling. " . . .She was nice," he admitted.

"That's good, then." For a moment, she forgot she was lost in the middle of nowhere with no sign of being rescued, scant food, no matches. And so did he. Both were lost, all right, but lost in their own thoughts, for a while; mentally instead of physically. But as always, reality set and the stars diminished by casting a faint glow, that coupled with a strong breeze.

He felt the first sting of reality. " . . .Well. The first thing we have to do, is get you some clothes . . ." _Because if she runs around like that and I can't touch her, I'll go insane. And, start pulling my hair out. And I _need ALL _my hair. _"_So_..." His breath blew out between tight lips, now feeling uncharcteristically awkward, himself.

Serenity took up a defensive stance,"Get what? And I'm _not_ wearing—" she blushed briefly,"—that _thing_ that you said!"

"What . . .?" He stared, puzzled. "Oh, right! . ." Thanks for reminding me!In actual seriousness, he studied up towards between the palm trees' fronds. It was too dark to tell if there were any fruits.

_!…I guess… we're on good terms again, by still! _"S-so . . .you can just forget about it!" _Serenity went out of sight. They probably hurt anyway._

"Yeah, O.K. . . ." He was fiendishly disappointed. Now where did she go? A telltale sign of auburn hair peeked from behind the kettle, in it'swild ponytail. "Here, then." He lifted the white shirt off his own head, and held it out impatiently.

"R-really?" She had really thought that he was going to make her wear it... after all; since, he was so mysterious. "Thanks!" Happily, she caught it as he threw it, took it and started to put it on with a smile. The night had grown dark again, so she had no embarrassment. She could just barely make out her hands, holding the white shirt, in front of her. _See, he_ can _be nice sometimes . . .sometimes . . ._

"...The clothes are in the gray granite cave, under the big rock," he droned on, giving her instructions and directions. _Maybe I should go . . .a snake in the woods would probably bite her_. _Nah--_ "It shouldn't be hard to find even though there isn't any flashlight . . .just feel your way around." --_I've done enough._ "Hey! Are you listening!" She was staring at him numb with shock. "Hey! I asked you a question!" he said when she didn't answer right away.

" . . .Huh? Uh, nothing!" She began fumbling around again, trying to think 'cool.' "I was just admiring your, um, necklace." _I've never seen it before; he must tuck it inside his shirt, all this time._ "It's very pretty." Then she, "coolly", slipped on the shirt over her head, and promptly got it stuck in the sleeve.

_Goodness sakes._ He sighed patiently, then went over to put her right, as she started thrashing, in a panic. _"Hold still!"_

Mortified, she called out muffled by the cotton, "I-I'm all right! I've got everything under control!" Then her head popped out, the right hole this time, and she kept her eyes pointed down away from his chest. Her hair was stuck up everywhere now; but she was too timid to fix it. "Phew! Thanks." She said meekly, her cheeks burning with the fight not to blush. 

"You know," he said after a while, "you sure do look cute in my shirt." The shirt was too big, but it fell to her knees like a dress.

She heard the smile, and fought to stay cool and not nervously smile. "Th-thanks--" she said cheerily, squeaking, though she still stared at her feet like she had to write an essay about them. "So do you."

_But...I'm not...--_he decided to let that pass, since she didn't know any better. He was standing very close to her now; interesting how she was immediately _pacifying_ in his nearness. "Are you done looking at your feet?" he said, his voice crackling sarcasm impatiently.

"Oh, _nooo_ . . ." It just slipped right over her head, his snootiness. "Not done, no, no, no . . ." she stopped with a gulp. The seconds turned into minutes. 

"You know . . ." he murmured, and his voice had that baritone quality that made it seem to _roll_ right through her, like dark, laced honey; it made one close their eyes to savor it. "Even after all you've told me about your uncle, I don't think I'll be able to stand it."

It all would've made most girls swoon, but she... was unique. "I . . .I'm sure you'll have help," she said coyly, batting her eyes, and gesturing up, towards the trees. Faint chattering of monkeys could be heard, all seeking revenge of the loss of their comrade and staring with wet, beady eyes. He scowled up there, and they stopped chit-chattering. _"Oh, me and the monkeys have reached an understanding,"_ he muttered, looking down again. She remembered; and felt sweat at her hairline; looking at his chest. The top of her head barely reached his chin, even by standing. She traced the card-shaped, square necklace that hung to nearly to his stomach, similar to the one her brother had. Serenity didn't think she ought to tell him that, though. 

"I guess it would be heartless of me to not touch." He grinned ferally and prowled, closer teasing. "Some people call me 'heartless'."She passed her left hand over the left side of his chest, feeling a strong beat.

"I don't think you're heartless." Stunned by her boldness, his grin faded. He stared so long that the sand felt sweaty under her feet. Under _both_ their feet. " . . .Maybe a little _obsessive_." She let a grin of her own light up her face, to show her kidding. _And darn vain, too._

He could still feel her touch lingering on his skin even after she took her hand down from his chest. Speechless. In an especially strained voice, he muttered, "Go and get your clothes, _shorty_." Funny how he felt both disappointed and relief when she did so. _Mostly relief._ Seto turned and walked towards the sea, remembering and thinking. The tiny glimmers on the water from leftover starlight looked like stars that had fallen from the sky. He walked until his flat palm trailed the surface and felt wet. Indeed, the royal blue sky held no light; unlike before, when then the sky was full of thousand flecks. _It looks like we'll never be rescued._ The thought weighed heavily. _Unless I do something._ _"I don't think you're heartless." _He turned his head to the left, and might've missed it if he didn't just do it just then: a long, boarded with planks, floating on thin water . . ._a_ _boat_. _I'm dreaming . . ._ It was hidden; he'd never come out this far before. It was dangerous to, what with sharks lurking. _It must be a mirage; I just thought. . ._As he neared it though, he saw it was no mirage. A real-life boat, complete with packs and duffel bags, perfectly seaworthy . . _.a ticket to get back home . . ._

At the scream, he turned his head again. Staring at the shore again, he called out Serenity! as he ran back, water tossing in all directions. It was _her_ scream; she was in trouble . . . When he got to a particular clearing, in the woodsy area, he found her; limp and curled up like the day he'd found her, two weeks back halfway the sand. She looked like she'd been knocked out, sharply he sniffed cholorform. _She didn't reach the clothes . ._ .As he knelt, there was a flash from a flashlight, and not seeing electricity for a while, he was blinded, and then a swing of an arm, and then, nothing.

Next morning...

"Seto! Seto!" Someone was shaking him.

The high pitched sound of voice made him think that Mokuba was calling him, coming to wake him up and jump on his double post bed like he always did. Mokuba was his ten-year-old brother. Seto experienced the same disorientation he did right before.

But it wasn't, of course. "Welcome back to the land of the living, eh?" A stranger's voice called. Seto focused and realized his hands were tied at the wrists, behind his back. It was morning; daylight and blue skies were all over the place. Tips of palm trees swayed in the breeze beneath some seagulls. _Where's? "_Eh, you just heard her voice, eh?" The man had a strange accent that he couldn't place. It sounded familiar, though. "She's ok, and she'll STAY that way, 'till you climb on my boat, eh? I bet you're wonderin' who I am, and what I'm doin' here. Well, I'll tell ya afta you get on the boat."

"Why should I?" Seto was glad to see Serenity still alive, though not tied up. She was okay.

"Seto, it's okay! He says that he'll take us back home. Isn't that great?" She, ever trusting, was still wearing the long T-shirt and nothing else. The stranger, an old man that looked like he'd been in the sea forever, had a sea robber look about him, held up a bag full of gold coins. "He says we don't even have to pay him," Serenity went on excitedly, her words slurring together, "since he already found his treasure. Remember my treasure map?"

He didn't believe a word. Why would the old man tie him up, if he meant no harm? Unless he had thought that he was a danger. _But something smells fishy…and its not the guy either._ But he could see the hope in her eyes, at the thought of leaving together, and decided to play along. " . . .All right. We'll go with you."

"Excellent. You don't mind that I tied you up, did you? You scared me a fright last night . . ." The old man grinned toothlessly and led him up by the elbow to the boat. "Imagine... running into the headline castaways...!... Now, little lady," he said to Serenity, "You're staying here."

"But . . .wait!..." Serenity tried to go too. She didn't want to stay a minute longer. But the old man whipped out an old withered hand out to her while he whipped out a gun to him, out of her view. "I . . .I want to go too!"

"Don't worry my sweet; we'll come back for you, later. _Won't we?"_ he whispered to Seto menacingly in his ear. He smelled like bad booze. "Seto _Kaiba_!"

Seto didn't even WANT to know how he knew his name. "Of course." It could be anything from a disgruntled employee to somebody he kicked aside on the way to work. Probably not the latter, since he was familiar. He was forced to sit down on top of duffel bags, one sharp one poking him in the backside.

"Ah, m'dear, you are so pretty." Condescendingly, the old man patted her head. _You've grown up to be such a pretty girl, Serenity._ "But, I swear, we'll be back with help. _Won't we!"_

"Right," was the sarcastic answer. Their eyes met as the motor gunned and started, blue on brown, and held."No . . ." Serenity had no choice, but to stay, helpless. She caught a glint of silver at the old man's hand. But even if it were a gun, what could _she_ do? One wrong move and the old man would shoot them both.

Once out to sea, the old oman taunted,"...you two have been declared dead, did I tell ya that? No? Well, for you, Kaiba, you company's been ruined . . ." He let that sink in, while she gasped, and the old man grinned evilly. "And your brother has been taken in by the orphanage. Feisty little 'un, he ran away, and then was found dead. He tried to look for you, it is assumed."

**_"LIAR!"_** Seto fought against his restraints, trying to get to him.

"And what about m-my brother?" she demanded. "How _is_ he?"

"Yours?" The old man frowned in thought, "Plainly, very, depressed. But, that's expected, coming from a funeral." He turned and the motor gunned to life with a roar, and they streaked out bobbing on the surface of the water. _Funeral? Whose?_ A sinking feeling. _Mine._ So, Joey _did_ think she was dead . . .

Maybe it'd been stupid, but she always hoped he would come back, like he did, _once, again_. She'd kept that hope alive but if he thought _she was dead_ . . .then he wouldn't come back! But there was no time to brood about that now. She waded in until her hips, watching as their eyes met as he became a tiny speck and prayedwithall her little might,for Seto's safety.

Meanwhile, while the old man was ranting about what a fine price he'll get; Seto was thinking that money was overrated, _starting to._ The man had made a fatal mistake--other than capturing him in the first place, of course. The rope that bound him was tight, but _not tight enough._ He was double jointed, and plus, had become thinner, from starving. This helped get the ropes off, and his feet weren't bound . . .but, also, bad; because he was weak from starvation.

Then again, he scarcely ate while on mainland and got along fine, so he trusted his own reflexes. They were still sharp... and soon he had the gun before the old man noticed he was free. "Tell me the truth!" Seto shouted. Even the gun felt odd, to hold.

"Truth about what?" The old man had a crazy look in his mad eyes. "Did I say something? Is that you, Kaiba? You don't look like it. What happened to--" he looked at the hair which was stiffening into spikes, and the angry expression.

Grabbing him, Seto began to smash his head against the whirling motor. "_About my brother!"_ Wham! By squinting, Serenity could see that Seto was free, and hitting the old man? She couldn't be sure. _I HOPE so. Stupid old man . . .lying to me . . .I really thought I got him convinced to take us back! I was so sure! I hoped-- _The water began to feel cold and she trudged back. _Plus, he seemed very familiar, too... I can't place it . . . the accent . . .--oh, Uncle Bob! _Meanwhile, the motor whirred and cracked, becoming disconnected with the rest. Seto didn't care, he was in a rage. "Dammit! Where IS HE!"

The old man grinned a sick smile. "DEAD! DEAD I TELL YOU! HAhahha" and with that he leapt, one withered old foot tying up in rope, the other end tying up in the blades of the motor. Then with a sickening crack, the motor tore off and the old man sunk to the bottom of the sea, pulled by the weight of it. Heaving, panting, Seto tried to pull his wits back.

Damn . . .I swear I could hear him glub, 'Take care of Serenity for me . . .' The boat was still being propelled forward by momentum, at high speeds. Thankfully, the motor hadn't left a hole in it, but with no motor, he was lost at sea. _I'm sure h-he's lying . . .about Mokuba._ Now, how to turn this boat around?

The boat was still being propelled forward by momentum, at high speeds. Thankfully, the motor hadn't left a hole in it, but with no motor, he was lost at sea. Now, how to turn this boat around? 

Serenity could only see one on board now, and she was glad it was Seto. She could tell by the tall, muscular form; the old man had been short. He was just a speck on the light, gray horizon, but could feel him as if he were standing right in front of her.

**Notice me…………………………………………………………………………………………………** She trudged slowly back further.

...Further on towards the shoreline.

...And then she looked back.

She couldn't see him anymore.

He had disappeared, from sight, probably hundreds of miles away by now. _Stupid me_ . . . . Their eyes met in her mind. _Somehow,_ _I do wish that he'd come back, even if it means . . . I'm not rescued. Be optimistic!_

_But that's silly. He's only been gone for a few minutes! _But something akin to missing him had already budded in her heart . . ..

_He's probably on his way to mainland r...right now, and going to bring back some help!_ A plop of silver on the water, then; added. She was so busy thinking and berating, reminiscing about their time together and mourning that she didn't even notice he was there until he was right in front of her.

In the shock, she could only sputter, "But I thought . . .I thought . . ." and look from the skyline to his sky-blue eyes. "I thought that you were going to . . . go and get some help! Go and get some help!" she could only repeat, in a croak through tight throat. "What are you doing h-h-h--"

"After swimming all the way over here, that's the thanks? I think I should've drowned with the sick old man." His tone turned husky and serious as she leaped into his arms. His skin was slick from swimming and was dripping all over her, but she didn't care as she smiled up. And then leaped into his arms. Her leap caused him to lose his balance and fall back; he turned so she was below and he on top, supporting her fallwith his arms. The waves crashed over them and around them, welcoming them back.

_"I couldn't leave you,"_ he whispered again before fastening his lips to hers, as she kissed him back...

To be continued Next Chapter

* * *

**A/N:** Ah . . .the classical roll on the beach. You got your sand. You got your water. So, you roll on it. :D Good looking guy optional. How quasi-romantic. :) I wasn't going to make the old man turn out to be Serenity's uncle, but it… fit. :) So, please review for more! 


	17. Day Seventeen: One Last Night

**A/n:** Ah, ha ha... lovesick birds, indeed... I'm trying to wrap this story up. This'll be the last day on the island... then they get home... and then reality hits upside the head. Kind of like coming home after a long vacation. Dun dun DUN. So, only 'till chapter 20 this fic'll last.

VeryShortMidget - Thanks for the compliments ! Yours was the best I've received !

ShibiChicken - Very good eye ! No one else noticed that Seto recognized Serenity's uncle... very good !

chinxy - poor Mokuba's ok, they 'tried' to stuff him in an orphanage; they TRIED ! keyword: tried

Walis - more like frolicking . . . they were frolicking . . . BTW, are you going to do the potter's wheel scene? You oughta make it funny like SNL did...boy that was a change of subject.

Thanks very much to the other reviewers ! You all are so nice.

-

-

-

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except this plot... end disclaimer._

_-_

_-_

_

* * *

_

**Day Seventeen : One Last Night **

* * *

Serenity woke up on the seventeenth day, not knowing it was going to be the last day on the fateful island, and she was alone. It was just before daybreak and Seto was acting strange. She found this out later, when after she washed up in the pond, admiring grey-and-blue lights glimmering upon the surface of the pond. The quietness was absolute.

Reaching the little granite cave, she found a pair of baggy, bright red shorts that were a least two sizes too big. Well, at least it was something as opposed to nothing. They fell even lower then the baggy white shirt, Seto's shirt, from when he had loaned it to her. Nearly to her ankles. I feel like a thug, she thought, slipping them on. _One of those... rap guys' girlfriends... _Now the theme to _that song _was stuck in her head; she hummed it softly while she wandered around, looking for Seto. A glimmer of fear rose up again, the fear of being left. Left alone in the island that seemed to be like Eden at first, and hold so much mystery.

_Sheesh... I can't get it out of my head! Just like... the day before._ Yesterday had been so _magical_. They had spent the whole day on the beach - she had the tan to prove it - just holding each other and talking, laughing occasionally. Now she felt that his absence was some kind of sign. The way he had looked at her . . . she felt like the _luckiest _girl on Earth. Like a fairy-tale princess, or a queen of the island. Then they had slept. _Well! Not like THAT! _She was quick to reassure her conscience. _Even though he's a full grown man, and I'm just a silly girl, I do trust him. Even I think I'm falling for him . . . a little._

Because he could've gone. Could've gone and left without her, back to Domino and gotten a rescue 'copter to get her, but he didn't. Instead of going back to society, to his richness, he had chosen instead to go back, to be with her. She recognized this, and knew it. Even though he might be hard to decipher sometimes, and even a little close-minded and close-hearted, she had a feeling, way deep down in her gut, that he could be caring, and loving. Call it female intuition, or whatnot - but she felt it in her heart all the same. Still, that wasn't just the issue - a lot was at stake here.

Like, first getting off this island, and surviving. There was no food left. There was no matches left, wet or dry. Nothing but the clothes on their back and empty, rumbling stomachs. Yesterday, surprisingly, she hadn't felt hungry, or hunger at all. For once, she had been completely sated and satisfied, and her stomach hadn't rumbled once. Good thing, because she had been with him all afternoon . . .

_And I've got the sunburn to prove it! Ouch._ It was mostly on her hand and arm, but he got the brunt of the sizzling sun because he'd been shirtless. _Well, he had!_ She told herself as her conscience flared up again. _Just statin' a fact... _she pulled up her hair, which had frizzed up a little in the sun. It was impossible to run one's fingers through; it was so knotty now. But his was worse. After the haircutting incident, it had made a mat of hair on top of his head. Short and spiky. Plus, it was coupled with the hand-and-arm print on his back from where her arm had been. . . something she hadn't, 'accidentally', told him.

_Seeing how vain he is . . . it's best to shut up about some things. _"How am I supposed to go back, looking like this?" she muttered under her breath. "_I'm a big important CEO!_" That's what he WOULD say if she opened her mouth. _Nope, no, best to be quiet about his looks. Not that he looks bad. _Tall and tanned, his hair lightened by the sun to make his skin almost the same honey-glazed shade. He looked postively sexy _now_. I don't know why Kayla and Tiff called him that, Serenity thought, referring to her classmates back in Ikari High. _Now he looks 'like that.' Before, mm . . . nah. He looked like a person with a constant headache then._

With a smile at what her classmates would think of her if they could see her now - they'd probably die by squealing - Serenity finally found him. Spotting him near the Really Big and Tall Cliff, he was just looking out to sea, with his back to her. _My friends probably think he's a really romantic guy - which he is - but they don't know the sensitive, brooding side to him._ His legs dangled over the side of the cliff - which was at least a hundred foot drop -and he had a soft, faded grey shirt on with the collar of the necklace Duel card-shaped pendant he wore tucked inside. She saw that as she came closer and sat down; right beside. For some reason, he always hid his feelings about Mokuba away from her. Yesterday, when the subject had been skated over, he'd sidestepped.

She nudged him on the shoulder, with a soft "Hey." _He seemed to be in one of his moodier moods._

"Why did you do that Serenity." He said so calmly, it was almost thoughtfully.

"Do what?" Automatically, she braced herself for a tirade.

"Nudge my shoulder."

"It's what I do to all my friends."

"On a fifty-foot high cliff!"

So then it was fifty-foot, not a hundred-foot. "Well, no, but I -" She looked sheepish, at the dawn's early light as it bathed around them. It was pinkening the sky, not to mention her face, as she was put on the spotlight. "Sorry!"

He turned back forward with a defeated-sounding, short sigh. One knee came up and he placed his elbow on it. "Well, I shouldn't jumped down your throat. Sorry," he said gruffly. " . . . no one's done it to me before . . . I was just thinking . . . " he touched the middle of his chest. "About Mokuba; his welfare."

"It's okay. I'm sure he's okay." And she was. How she could know it was not clear, but she did. Sadly, she remembered the little bright-eyed boy with the messy, long black hair and striped shirt. "He's okay . . . " she murmured on listlessly, rocking back and forth slightly. "He's waiting for you, for always. To come and pick him up; to see you again." A long silence fell. Serenity, who had become quiet, was remembering what the old man had said, that he was dead. "Don't listen to the old man."

"Who was your uncle." Seto said curtly, twisting to face her with a solemn expression.

"How - how did you know?" She was taken aback. Though he had mentioned how he had died, by drowning, she didn't know that he knew that - well, who he was.

"Accent. By his voice." Seto drew up the other knee and laid his chin lightly on them. "It was the same as the - er, your brother's - so I surmised."

" . . . Oh. Well . . . it does run in the family," she mused, her turn to play thoughtful. "On only the men's side, though."

"So I gathered." Her lovely, sweet-sounding voice had none of the fake-sounding accent. "You haven't been singing since."

"There's nothing to sing about," she picked at a blade of grass. "Things don't look so good, Seto. Even though . . . " She stopped and changed the subject. "I haven't known that I carried the burden of what he did to me, you know? Until now, when I can finally breathe. Now that he's died." A kind of crooked smile played around her lips. "Silly, eh."

"I don't think so." He stared at her profile, as the sun rose up from the heavens. A lovely, delicate little nose, wisps of strands in her eyes, and plump little lips he remembered kissing richly the day before. That is, until . . . she fell _asleep_. He frowned and his jaw hardened as granite as the cave. Now, it was one thing to be rejected, and quite another to fall asleep _while _being kissed. Hurting his manly pride, he was still mad at her for that. Even though, it wasn't exactly her fault, it still stung. "I say the bastard deserved to be . . . wherever he is now; rotting in hell, I guess."

He continued to "hmph" and "feh" as she turned around slowly and stared, watching him for a minute. Another thing, he sure like having grudges. Even though they weren't his own grudges. And he wasn't even a full grown man yet! Only seventeen. Ah, to be seventeen . . . and have _so much hatred and anger inside of one man . . ._But it wasn't aganist her, and she was glad.

"Seto? Is something wrong?"

"Other than the fact where stuck here for god knows how long, I'm fine," he growled. He continued to harrumph.

"Are you mad at me?"

He set his legs down, got up, and walked away.

"_Please _tell me."

She followed him all over, to the shore, through the woods, over the... pond, and the shore again. He seemed to be in a foul temper, but he didn't tell her to buzz off. At least. Yet.

"What - what did I do? If you don't tell me," she clutched at a stitch in her side from all the running, "I'll keep bugging you until you want to pull all your hair out and you won't have any more, which would be shame -"

"All right!" he yelled finally. "You-Fell-Asleep- hm?" his foot touched something saggy and that made a high pitched, scuffling sound when touched. _A bag?_

"Well?" she said, dropping down to her knees as he bent over to open. It was a small, black duffel bag he remembered the old man having with him and must have forgotten.

"Never you mind." He said with just a sharp snap of the zipper as it jerked open. Wrapped packages wrapped in cloth, paper bags, plastic bags, cans, boxes . . . "Well, this solves our problem of no food."

"Wow!" said Serenity, leaning in and curiousity overidding all inquistion. "Look . . . there's canned beef . . . meat, Seto - and peaches, playing cards" the regular ones, not Duel Monsters "and Soda! We got soda!" she whooped, not seeing the sugary fizzy drink in nearly a month.

"Rots your teeth," he advised, though inside he was just as thrilled as her. Now if only there were a boat, all-folded up so you could fold it _out _. . . There was. An inflatable raft, plastic but sturdy, and dark green plastic oars, two of them, it was a start. "A boat!" he exclaimed excitedly. "_We gotta boat!"_

Serenity had just gathered up all the food and was just about to make a feast. "Can't we . . . uh, go later? I wanted to make us a good meal; I'm starving."

"Make enough for yourself," he said brusquely. "I'm not hungry."

"Then why is your stomach rumbling?" she argued. "You're eating. Please?"

"Fine, fine, whatever." He was curt with her again, remembering having seen land before he had jumped out of the motor boat; it couldn't have been a mile from where he was. And the day was perfect; not too breezy, but if it were to be windy later, he could fashion a sail out of their . . .

Serenity went away to make them a nice fat dinner. Now that they'd found the bag, she wanted to stay a little longer. "Though I guess he's right; this food won't last for long," she reasoned. "Ah well." She set the water to boil, after hauling from the freshwater pond . . . reminded unpleasantly about the time he'd tried to cook her. _Surely, right before he was interrupted he wasn't talking about the . . . about, you know. _She gritted her teeth and made a face. _The . . . me falling asleep thing._ It really wasn't her fault! They had kissed romantically, at sunset after talking all day; he had felt so warm and safe and strong in her arms, and she had drifted off while he was kissing her. It was so relaxing . . . she got a bit too relaxed, she found out later. I ought to apologize. But seeing the water froth and boil, dregded up old angry feelings. _I will never look at a pot of boiling water again . . . _

_And it's all because of him! I'm mad at him! That's what I should say, shouldn't I . . . evey time he brings up his looks . . . I'll say, 'I'll never look at a simple pot the same way again!'_

Yeah right. You know you don't have the guts! You coward!taunted a little voice inside her head. She ignored it and looked dazedly around the beach. It was pretty outside, with good weather conditions and all . . . but would a tiny, plastic boat that looked more as if it would serve as a shark treat pull through? _I mean, I know he's eager to see what's up back at home, but no need to lose your life over it!_

She looked down. Hm, maybe she should only cook _some_, not all . . . just in case. _Ooh, I'm being so cautious. Just like him; one would think the food was poisoned. _Still, he seemed excited. And anything was better than the doom-and-gloom look that was constantly on his visage. _I should support him. At least he's not mad anymore._

Or so she thought. Even though he stayed far away, trying to inflate that thing, he kept throwing her glares, as if daring her to say something. She gave her best skeptical look; which seemed to infuriate him even further; he starting puffing away madly. _Oops, I guess looking at him skeptically isn't being supportive._ So, she put on her best supportive, encouraging look . . . only to get a confused one from him. _Eh, I just scared him. Best not to look anymore, Seren . . . _

Finally, the food was done and she brought it over with a flourish. He certainly wasn't done blowing the thing up, in fact was getting more and more frustrated. She reached out and pulled on a red string attached to the boat; it inflated instantly. Now, usually she would think he'd be thrilled - he wouldn't have to puff anymore - but instead he just looked even madder. Even angrier. He snatched his bowl from her grip and turned and face the other way. She could hear him chewing furiously.

_Sheesh . . . I guess I embarassed him._ Scratching her cheek, she silently began to eat, throwing an occasional glance. _Man, is he mad cranky._ After a full thirty minutes, she couldn't stand it any longer. "Seto . . . ?"

"Just so you know," he said so quickly it was as if he'd been just waiting for a cue, "I knew about that string. And I wasn't planning on pulling it," he said viciously, "until it was time to set off."

He threw down the bowl. It's half-eaten contents splattered all over her knee and on his feet and he rose quickly. "I'm sorry," she blurted out, "for you know," now he was already five feet away, "falling asleep _yesterday_."

He stiffened. She begged him, silently, to turn around. But the tension, instead of dying down, started up. "Feh. Like I was thinking about that. So meaningless. I forgot about it _already_."

Her bowl was set down gently on her lap. _Meaningless?_ _Perhaps he really does think of me like that . . . _

Sniffling, she picked up the sandy bowl and washed them, before drying them mostly out of thought than necessity. She picked up the playing cards and set out a hand of solitaire, then deliberately started drawing and finishing the game. Seeing the deck wasn't complete, she went to the duffel bag to woodenly check if maybe there were a couple of the missing cards there. Instead, she found a bag. Wrapped in heavy canvas cloth, it looked bumpy. "What the . . . " she murmured, lifting it out. Inside, was more gold coins than she could count. "Oh, my Ra! _Gold_!" At the bottom of the bag, she found a note. At least what she _believed _was a note. It was a duplicate of the map, the treasure map she had found long ago, a copy . . .

No, it was the real thing. She remembered there'd been a tiny tear in the corner. "Oh . . . " On the bottom, was a scrawl. _Found her today. After so many years. I'm sorry, my darling Serenity. I will find this treasure for her, as penance._ A tiny plip appeared on "penance".

" . . . Uncle - Bob." Even though she had been hurt by his molestations; a why me? question about it in her head since she was four - she had always hoped, no dreamed that he would say 'I'm sorry.' "_I forgive you_." she whispered. _Now I really feel like I can really move on, and past._

She folded up the map and tucked it away, remembering there was a vague sense of being watched while in the cave. Then she remembered there being a skeleton. The mysterious 'moving' skeleton. Then she remembered he was staying with his wife, on some 'deserted beach.' "OMR!" she cried, with a clap of the hand. _I hope that - I really hope that wasn't Aunt Mary!_

"Poor Aunt Mary . . . " she rocked back and forth on her heels, shaking her head. Even though her aunt had slapped her when she was a little girl, when she had told her the truth, Serenity really hoped she was wrong . . .

"Who's Aunt Mary?" he said crisply, still mad at her. She took a full minute to jump at his voice. By then he was already in halfway mid-sentence. "Hey! Fantasizer!" (1)

"I did always wonder why she was labeled as 'Missing,' " Serenity said softly. "No, she's dead. I think."

He stared at her, not used to being ignored. "Hel-lo. Earth to Fantasizer." She just brushed him off when he waved his hands in front of her face. "What the heck are you talking about."

She didn't care for his tone. "Never you mind," she threw his own words back. Before stomping off, she said, "And those coins, which you so failed to tell me about, are mine. See?"

"Coins?" He ignored the ratty paper that she thrust at him and looked inside the two bags. "Whoa . . . " he whistled, silently. About five million worth, he deduced as she lowered her arm. "Sure, you can have it. But we gotta leave today."

"Wha-what?" _Is he really letting me have it?_

"What's that?" he pointed to her hand, before snatching the paper from it. So furious was the motion, the note prompty tore in two.

"Hey!" She said as he calmly put the two halves together and held it up to the light. "You broke it!" Her brows creased in anger.

"You're the one who broke it," he said, still calmly, though his eyes narrowed at her fury. "And it's nothing; just some note from your old grandpappy saying 'I'm sorry'. Feh. Don't tell me you actually believe him? And _forgave _him!"

"So what if I did?" she yelled, tears welling as she snatched it back preciously, both of them. "Stop laughing! You wouldn't understand. Even if you've been through what I went through, which I know you hadn't. I can tell you live the rich life, you never have to struggle."

An image of the mountains of books he was to read before six while watching other kids play, rose up and floated away slowly. "You're right," he said monotonously. "I wouldn't understand." He left, not standing to watch her attempt to carefully tape the note back together. _So many times I had pushed the image away, but this girl . . . she's holding onto her images! _

_She's crazy. All forgiving an old perv. I know I could never forgive my father, for what he did to me. _He kicked some sand, picking up the shells. _And I only did what I did yesterday because I felt sorry for her and nothing else. I'm so good-hearted. Pity pushed me to jump off of that boat. I didn't even know I had it until I did it. And because I was lonely._

Grouching, he took the heavy canvas he'd took before leaving, and made himself a hammock. The sun was already beginning it's descent down the sky. He tried to think of how pretty it was, instead of what just happened. _'Never had to struggle.' What does she know? She barely knows what time it is. And loneliness is a sorry reason to jump off and miss going home. It doesn't even make sense. How can 'loneliness' equal 'jumping off a boat' and swimming like a nut back to her? There is no logic. And I haven't questioned it until now. Which is even more mind-boggling. _

Sighing heavily, he rolled eyes that were just as royal blue as the darkening sky. _Whatever. I have more important things to think about. Like, I hope the day will be clear tomorrow 'cause that's the day we're setting sail. And if she wants to bury her old auntie's bones instead, I'm going without her. About the money . . . well, I guess she can have half. It'll still be more than her dirty family ever set eyes on. Dirty old uncle Bob. What a stupid-sounding name. She didn't even recognize him yesterday, her own uncle. If I knew, I would've known right away he was scum. But, with my superb brains, I found out immediately. I only went with him so Serenity wouldn't get hurt. But, maybe now I should've left them together._

He closed his eyes, face turned towards the sun sinking on the horizon. His mental ramblings turned into that, just ramblings. _Yep. I am such a good guy letting her have some money. Maybe that dirty brother of hers can buy himself a bath, and some new uniforms for school. And a steel brush to comb his hair. I'll know when I'm reading the newspaper, in my lovely mansion, and it says there's been an 'oil spil' at Domino Pier. _This made him snicker uncontrollably, and he half opened his eyes and saw a shadow. Getting up with a start, he realized it was only _her_. Sheesh, now I'm the one going off on a tangent, he thought.

Feeling a bit guilty for thinking those thoughts - even though he'd meant every one of them -anyway, he felt bad, so he decided to be nice for once. He approached her.

"You can have the hammock for our last night here. I'll take the floor." He pointed to the sand, in case she didn't get it.

She got it just fine. Finishing her soft humming, she returned curtly, "No thank you. I wouldn't dare have you in _a bad mood_ tomorrow, which I'm sure will be caused by the crick in your neck."

"Just take it." He said, eyes narrowing. If he was going to be nice, then damn well she better let him!

"Oh, no please," shesighed tiredly and heavily,"you'd better. I'll just - make myself comfortable in the sand."

"JUST. TAKE. IT."

"You take it."

"No . . . YOU take it."

"Take it."

"No, you. I insist."

"No, I insist."

"Just take it already!"

"No, you."

"No. You."

"Go ahead."

"Fine." He left and Serenity blinked. _Why, that wasn't how it was supposed to turn out!_ She watched as he stopped by the hammock, stretched so widely he touched the coconuts on top of the trees - he was pretty long - gave this huge yawn, and flopped down comfortably on his side, the trees he'd stringed it between bowing with his weight.

"Fine!" she muttered, pushing some sand together with her toes. She had taken some bottled shampoo from the duffel bag gratefully, and washed her hair with it, which was just going to get dirty by lying in the sand again. She threw give her most dirtiest look as she settled down; the moon was bright tonight to see his expression; he merely yawned lazily again and smiled, in his sleep. She sat up and yelled out his name. He did not answer.

Coming over, carefully, she knelt down in a crouch and looked into his closed eyed face, waiting. After a while, he opened them to see her looking at him with big dark, liquid looking eyes. Giving her a "well you had your chance" look, he turned over and faced the other way.

She crawled underneath his form to the other side, and gave him her best hopeful look. This time he gave her a disgusted look, like as if to say, "what are you waiting for?" Which was practically what he said. "Go away and sleep on the sand. Not too near or next to me, or I'll step on you when I get up in the morning," he said in cold tones.

She didn't move, just pushed closer until he could see every lash clinging with fear of being lonely. "Okay, okay," he gestured, making a motion, reluctantly with his hand. "You can sleep here and I'll sleep on the floor-" She gave a quick smile and leaped. Literally leaped on top of him. "-Oof!" _What is she, eight? Even Mokuba doesn't leap like a monkey when he has a nightmare._ He backed away as she snuggled up to him, grinning. Then her grin faded as he made to get up and she wrapped her arms around him. "Okay, okay! I'll stay!" he groused. "Don't touch me," he said when she made to peck him on the cheek and turning his broad-shouldered back to her with a "harrumph."

She heard him muttering and grumbling underneath his breath, and she smiled anyway, spooning her own smaller body aganist his, tucking her knees in the crook of his leg. He stiffened up like a board, in warning, as she fussed around a bit, getting comfortable. The moon was shining bright and fuller than ever; it hurt his eyes. He wished that he had turned the other side. Plus, her touch was making him uncomfortable. Still angry, he gritted his teeth. _If you yell at her, it'll hurt her little feelings and you'll feel guilty for the rest of the night. If you yell at her . . . _On and on until he thought he might go crazy. Guilt was his least favorite emotion to feel.

"I said, _don't touch me_." He sniped.

"I'm not," she said simply. "Technically, I'm touching only your _T-shirt_. Which looks very nice on you, I might add." A sweet, heartbreaking smile.

He fought aganist it, but amusement tugged his mouth. "Do you always flatter people, just to get what you want?" Or when you're cornered, he added mentally.

"It works, on Joey." Her smile got bigger, her cheeks scrunching her eyes. She put her hand under her head.

"Who? Oh yeah." He was silent, looking up at the moon peeking through the leaves. "I bet he'd be thrilled, if _he could see us now_." I hope he doesn't have a gun.

She frowned slightly at the unbothered, heavy sarcasm. "What do you mean? He's a _little_ overprotective, but - why are you smirking?"

"Nothing. Never mind." _You'll see_. "He couldn't even protect you, from your uncle. Some 'sibling.' _Great_ big brother."

"Don't judge. He couldn't," she said quietly, "Our parents are divorced, see . . . so he could only come over every two months or so . . . "

"Shouldn't matter," he said brusquely, rubbing his mat of hair left. It felt like dry straw. "Big brothers are always supposed to protect younger siblings, _at all cost_. No matter what, Serenity," he said paternally.

Serenity was quiet, listening to his words sinking in. He's not just saying that to be cruel, she thought. _He really means it._ "I guess . . . I guess we're just too different, you and I." she whispered finally, playing with the thread the sewed the button on his collar.

_She sounds sad._ "You are right. Then again . . . " He started to grin as a smile splayed across his face, catching her hand on his chest.

" . . . and, we fight too much," she sighed, not paying any attention. He was probably going to say something callous, besides. Slipping her hand away, she tried to turn the other way to give him his space - like he wanted -but he held on, gently but firm. His eyes looked exactly like twin moons, reflecting tiny, but perfect circles of light as he stared at her. He wasn't paying any attention to her words.

" . . . opposites attract." He didn't know that was true, but it was so true, he didn't know it was, untilthe way they had'met'. _There is just something about this girl, she drives me crazy, and since she's not hurt it must mean I like her, she better not fall asleep on this kiss, special girl or not, I'll kill her._

"_I won't._ So hurry up! Sheesh, you think too much . . . zzzzz . . ."

The monkeys laughed.

To be Continued next Chapter . . .

* * *

**-** (1): My MSN nickname. I kinda modeled Seren after me, so . . . -.-

**A/n:** One thing I like about SxS is they define opposites attract theory. Me, I'm kind of a cynic, but boy it sure is fun to write ! So write I must do . . .

Ahem. Next: Our lovely couple sets sail ! Like the title, this'll be their last night on island, then they get home, then everyone's reactions and the conclusion. 20 chapters, no more, hopefully. My fingers ! Ouch, too much writin'. Anyway, please review for the next chapter.


	18. Chapter 18: To Go or Not to Go

**A/n:** Thankee for reviews ! This chapter will be . . . interesting, to say the least. (michevious smile) X3 Oh, and Kaiba's not mad since he wasn't actually kissing her . . .

Serenity Kou - Aw, thankee. I am glad you took time to read it all.

dadspunkin - It's ok, as long as you did, which you did !

VeryShortMidget - Yeah, that's what I was tryin' to do, put a lighter note to the story. You're welcome. :D

Telecoi - No, it won't depress you, I hope !

Disclaimer: I have never owned Yu-Gi-Oh so plz don't sue me. :D

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: To Go Or Not to Go

* * *

_Daybreak..._

A pair of eyes was watching the two lovebirds again, as they slept. It was nearly morning on the island, cool as the two muttered in their sleep. This time, the eyes belong not to a human, but to a . . .

"_Eee! Eee!_" The female monkey, wife to the dead monkey, studied the metal human object carefully. She closed the scissors and let out a yelp of pain. She was grateful to the male human for killing her husband because he'd been a pig. _Never giving me flowers! _The others thought she was crazy, but _he _knew.

Sneaking about quietly, the female monkey peered over the edge of the hammock. Her wet black eyes blinked rapidly, jealous at the sight. A strand of Serenity's red-brown hair was hanging over the edge. The scissors blades closed quietly . . .

"ZZzz!" Serenity let out a big snore and rolled over, tugging the blanket. Her hair fell silently to the ground. Seto didn't hear because he was snoring even louder than her.

The female monkey picked up the hair and started to curse it, when she spotted the inflatable raft, lying near the sea. Gripping the small, metal scissors with one hand, she started for it . . .

_Later_

She didn't even know anything was missing, when she woke up. The sun said early afternoon, not morning. The day looked perfect for a sail . . . This is it . . . this is the last day to be here . . .

It felt like a vacation; at least, it had felt like a vacation, and now they had to return back to reality. To her, reality felt like a big slap in the face. By a brick wall. I don't wanna go back . . .

"But I feel silly for suggesting it." _What a weird dream. I dreamed a monkey, a deranged female monkey was cutting off my hair._ Sitting up slightly, Serenity ran her fingers over her hair to check. _Oh, good, it was just a dream . . . _

She tossed her hair back again, a missing piece settled back over her back. _Should I wake him up? But he looks so cute . . . _He was just lying there, looking as innocent as a baby. "He looks like he could commit murder and get away with it when he sleeps." Even with all that bushy hair. She smiled, somewhat sheepishly._ It has been a memorable two-and-a-half weeks. I can't wait to tell it to everybody._

"I'm not going!"

She looked up at him.

"_We _have to." he said.

"I understand," she sighed. Then, "No, I don't! Let's stay." The words were out as he got up, and she clung to him like a monkey from his neck. _A full glomp. And great, those puppy-dog eyes look polymerized! _He thought, feeling weary.

"Think about your family. Would they want you stay here with me?" The statement was sly. "They probably, no, I know they miss you."

"Well, maybe I'll just put it off for a while."

He laughed again. "Sorry sweetie, but my family misses me too . . . " He distangled himself from her distracting grip gently, "So go and wash up. We'll be setting sail, soon," he urged her along by a patting her on the rump.

"Okay, okay . . . " She trudged along, and finally disappeared from sight. He watched her for a moment, then went by the shore to check on the raft.

Meanwhile

Serenity found that she couldn't stop from grinning as she dried her face with a soft towel, dried on the clothesline she had fashioned from a piece of twine and a nail. _I'm sure going to miss this place. It's so beautiful . . . _She watched as the many colorful tropical birds flung from tree to tree. _But Seto's right. It wouldn't be fair, just to stay here forever, to the people who love us and miss us. I wonder who misses him, except for his brother. His _girlfriend_, perhaps?_

Her towel dropped to the ground with an unbecoming splat. _He said, his _family_. But what if...?_ She picked it up again, slowly. _I have to ask! Without seeming jealous._ _What he meant. I'm not jealous._

"The BOAT!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin; at first, she started to run, towards him, but then thought better of it. It sounded very familiar . . .

Telling herself not to be a coward, she crept towards the shoreline, finally, after a good thirty minutes, and saw him bent over something by the sea. It was a boat; but not the raft . . .

"What's going on . . . ?"

"You ready?"

"Yeah, but I heard a yell . . . " She brushed the hair out of her eyes.

He stared for a moment, then said, "Oh. . . " _No wonder she didn't come._ "Those stupid monkey attacked the boat again. With a pair of _scissors_." He pointed to a deflated, totally useless raft. "But then this washed up. It's the boat the old man had."

Finishing his explanation, he gestured her to go in. "Uh . . . but there's a big hole in it!" she said, climbing in carefully. "Won't we sink?"

"No . . . that's where the motor was; but I klonked the old man with it, and he drowned - I told you." He showed her some oars. "Start paddling."

She wasn't so sure, but she did as he said, and they started pulling away from the shoreline. Soon, it was a tiny speck in the horizon and they were in the middle of the ocean. "Oh no . . . I forgot to - oh."

"Yeah, I got everything on board," he said through gritted teeth, sweating from exertion.

She turned slightly red. "Um - I'm tired. Think we should take a break?"

The sea was calm and perfectly still, so he agreed because she was looking "tired." _And she definitely needs a breather._ He frowned at her, catching something - a chunk of hair was missing. It was barely noticible, except when she turned her head ever so slightly to the left, which she was. _I'm definitely not going to say anything about it. SHe how she likes it_. He was able to keep from smiling by looking back at the island they'd left, and swore he heard angry shrieks, heartbroken shrieks - _is that a monkey?_ H-holding - scissors?

_Must be a mirage - a trick of light from the sun on water._ He shook his head, feeling the boat, which was big as a canoe so they both had more than enough space to stretch their feet; _boy, I will be happy when we get to reality. Sure, I'll miss the island . . . maybe I can buy it . . . _

While he was musing, meanwhile Serenity took out the cans of soda, wishing she had some ice. It was getting pretty hot. "Here. Keep up your strength." She lay back a little and propped up her feet on a pile, "You're doing _all _the paddling."

"I don't think so. Anyway, I think we're almost there . . . I remember seeing land the other time . . . " He sheilded his eyes from the sun's glare, tenting them. "Or . . . "

"S . . . Set . . . " She groped around, her eyes fixed on something on the water.

"What?"

"Sharks!"

Three black pointy fins were sticking out of the water; the sky took on a omnious grey cast.

"Start paddling!"

They started going again, she most of all. It'd been the scariest thing she'd ever seen, and that included Seto when he was angry. After bumping the boat once, the trio of sharks swam away.

"D . . . do you think a giant squid is going to pop out of nowhere?" She was shaking, peering anxiously all around.

"There are NO giant squids." But he didn't sound sure.

"AAH!"

A large black shape was right underneath the boat, too near, she threw her oar at it in fear. Big mistake.

The plastic oar floated away.

Muttering oaths, he tried to grab it back; since if they lost their oars, they were sitting ducks without it. She stopped him just as he was about to jump in.

"The sharks would eat you _alive_!"

_No matter, no matter,_ he told himself as the oar floated sadly away. _We still have one left._ She eyed him warily.

"Well, I _did _tell you you'd have to do all the paddling."

He stared at her. And it was not a nice stare. It was a _do-that-again-and-you're-shark-food_ stare. It really hurt; after all, she hadn't _meant _to do it.

The sun left. It was silent. Except for the steady whoosh whoosh of the paddle leaving the water, and then he finally spoke.

"There's the land."

She looked where he was pointing; it was too foggy now to see really well. It was starting to get cold too.

"I . . . think it's going to rain," she said slowly.

Cursing, he started to paddle even harder, but she kept staring up at the stone-dark sky. Remembering a time when it was exactly the same . . .

Fire crackling as lightning struck the boat . . . Pure darkness but that wasn't as blinding as the rain lashing . . . The water sea tornado spinning nearer, looking like some giant funnel . . .

"Seto . . . I . . . "

"We're going to make it!" He yelled, angry.

A molten metal funnel cloud . . . _and plus, I've heard of the giant squid supposedly that lives here . . . _

_I can't watch. _Rain started to lash down deafeningly.

"We're going to get blown back into the island!" she cried hysterically. It sounded faint.

_Dammit . . . I can't get back on my own. If only she hadn't thrown that oar away . . . _He stopped stroking, just as the rain stopped, suddenly. "What the-?"

"A little shower?" she ventured, looking around, just as drenched as he.

There was bad news; the rain, as if to prove it hadn't all been a dream, had filled up the canoe; it was toppled off to one side and water was rapidly filling it some more. They both started to frantically sweep the water off; but their effort only seemed to make things worse. Hope was rapidly decreasing, until . . .

"Look!" Serenity screamed.

He looked to where she pointed; half-expecting a giant squid - _nothing else can go wronger_ - but no. A pirate ship, a real pirate ship was appearing from the deep fog, complete with black sails, and skull and crossbones on them. Give me a break, he thought. _This is really, too, too much._

_I mean_ really_. Skull and crossbones? Someone up there must not like me._

"Omigosh, they're pirates and they want our gold!" Serenity was referring to the pile of gold they had found that her old man had ceded to her. She was completely out of it. "I _knew_ that we shouldn't have left! Now, they're gonna take us hostage - _again_ - and make us walk the plank!"

"Calm down," he advised, "even though we're on a sinking boat," he muttered.

She heard it.

"AND OUR BOAT IS _SINKING_!"

Her shriek were over heard by a very pirate-y looking dude. "Arr, mateys, need a _lift_?" He leered, a black patch covering one eye and a fake looking parrot on his shoulder. The thing wasn't even moving.

"Yes, mebbe they have some booty! Tie 'em up!" Shouts of gleeful, jeering laughter filled behind the young man.

_'Booty?' I feel like I've stepped in a time warp,_ Seto thought as he was being lifted up, too exhausted from paddling to put up much struggle. Besides, their boat was sinking, anyway, they couldn't stay on it for very much longer.

"Fresh meat!" Serenity heard them say as she was carried over, the dripping duffel bag on her back, clutching in fear. She couldn't see Seto anymore, only lantern-lit ship deck. The sky began to thunder again; they were taken down into the shelter - down below. Hundreds, it seemed of pirates crowded around, laughing, and she had never been so scared in her life. She was ready to pee her pants when -

"So!" One of them, a big tall and hair one slammed his fist on the wood table, making it jump - "have you got the gold, swabbie?"

"Y-yes, but .. . "

"Don't say anything," Seto muttered.

"Check her bag!"

They wrenched it out of her grip - she wasn't trying to keep it anymore - she had a tight hold because of fear - and the gold was split with a ker-thunk on the weak table. Spill of it spilled out, glittering before falling. Everyone cheered loudly, except of course, them.

After a loud, earsplitting cheering, she didn't think she could take any more of this when - one of the men stepped forward. He wasn't dressed as a pirate, but in a suit and jacket.

"Who found this gold?" he asked in a kind voice, "was it you, dearie?"

"Y-yes. But you can-" She was about to say that they could have it, when-

"Congratulations! You've won the Find The Gold Isnland Contest! Out of three thousand contestants, you are our grand prize winner!"

"W-what?" She squeaked, as news camera flashed but Seto wasn't _that_ surprised. At least, as much as her. I'm just glad they don't recognize me . . .

"What's your names?"

She told him.

The suited man dropped his microphone. "T . . . the castaways . . . ? But . . . but you're declared dead . . . _were_ declared dead . . . " More flashbulbs.

Seto sighed angrily and tried to glare at her, but she was whisked away as the "pirate boat" docked.

Later

Serenity couldn't believe it. Land. She felt like dropping to her knees, but she couldn't do that wouldn't everyone talking around her. She tried to get a glimpse of Seto, one last glimpse, but he was whisked away by the crowd. She did get one last look, at least, she thought she did, before he disappeared as the crowd dispersed. _Oh well. He told me that he was going to get his company back, so . . . I'll read about it in the newspaper . . . I guess._

Shouldering the duffel bag, she walked down the road, fighting the urge to go into every _one_ and shout, "I'm _alive_!" and run right out again. Maybe hug everyone.

There's only one I want to hug, though . . .

She sped up, fueling by the thought. Through the now night, darkening evening. She tried not to think about the sunset view on the island as she opened the door to her house and let herself in. She was still dressed in that baggy white shirt Seto had lent her - with the red shorts underneath and tennis loafers they had lent her, the contest people.

_It was like coming home from a vacation . . . everything was normal . . ._

It was dark, and the door was locked, but she used the hidden key, then creeped through the small kitchen, fighting the urge to _hug_ again. _Hello, stove . . . hello toaster . . . oven, fridge . . ._ A small TV flickering light.

The "Simpsons" was on. _Joey's home . . ._ A big grin split across her face; she practically _bounded_ forward.

_No, I don't want to scare him . . . _

_Or do I?_

_I mean, he's watching TV . . . he should be, at least_ _in_ mourningShe got a second look as she peeked very carefully around the kitchen door; he was alone and the lights were all off; she saw him pick up a picture of her from the coffee table and sniffle. His back was to her, she thought with a newfound calculating, _and why is he here at all-? Oh. Maybe Mom let him stay . . . after my funeral . . . _

Suddenly, she didn't want to . . . she was afraid . . . that she'd cry like a little baby . . . Tears were already forming . . .

_I know!_ Sneaking up very quietly, she took the remote control they kept inside a drawer - _I know this is mean, I know _- and pressed "power off." The TV went off with a static noise: _Zzt!_

It was completely dark. She heard a short silence, then Joey's confused muttering, - she had to bite her tongue to keep in the giggles, then spoke in her most SPOOKIEST, loudest voice:

_"hOw dArE yOu . . . wAtCh Tv wHile I'M DEAD!"_

"Eep?"

Lightning flashed; it was still thundering. Illuminating her billowing white form, from the white T-shirt, and gave her a ghastly glow. She raised her arms:

"BOO!"

"Ahh!" She started snickering, so hard that she coughed - he fell immediately. "Omigod. Omigod. My sister's ghost has come back . . . _go back to your grave!"_

"Joey . . . Joey, it's me," she said, seeing he was trembling - he really believed her joke.

"_We don't want you here! Go back to heaven!"_ He started crying.

"I'm alive . . . I'm alive, you see?" She went over to him, no longer laughing. She picked up his hand. "See? Solid."

"Sis . . . " He started crying even harder. And she was crying too as they hugged, and both of them started jumping. "You're _alive_! How- how-?" _Omigod._

She pulled her face to the side to breathe. "I'm _sorry_- for scaring you," she gasped, feeling like her head might pop off; he was hugging so tightly.

"Yeah well . . . you should," he said, hugging even MORE tight. "And I wasn't _scared_."

-

-

-

To Be Continued Next Chapter

* * *

**A/n:** Tee hee, isn't Seren' mean for that joke? Sometimes she is mean. Well, I'm glad they made it okay... DumDumDum. Cue thescary music 'cause next chapter will explain everything ! LOL Review? 


	19. Chapter 19: Home Again

**A/N:** Hey guys thanks for the reviews. I'm glad I got a chance to write before my break. ZZz. Well, anyway I hope you all would enjoy my chapter, it would be cool. Thanks a lot to all who reviewed last chapter !

Wicked  
Telecoi  
joshua aka seto and serenity lover

Pixiewolf3  
A. Valentine  
mariks1andonly  
Walis  
Setine  
Raven's Darkness  
icefire3  
Serenity Kou  
InsaneShadowFan  
setoxserenity-4ever  
chinxy  
flowerperson  
Seto's Girl 2004  
biggest anime fan  
newblue 

ShibiChicken  
StarWolf4  
xxTaintedcv

Black Mistress

_**A/N:**_ Thanks bunches ! I don't own YGO.

**Chapter 19: Home Again**

"Joe-_wee_," Serenity laughed, "Leggo of me already! I'm not a ghost, but you're gonna crush me to death!" As he crushed her around the stomach, it rumbled. _Boy, am I hungry!_

"Oh, sorry, sis," he lessened his crushing grip, "I jest can't get ova how solid you feel-" He patted her on the back, obviously checking for something. "Um-sis-how come yer not wearin' yer underwear?"

"Joey! Is that what you say to your beloved sister after you haven't seen me in two weeks?" She went through the kitchen door and put down the heavy bag with a grimace. _He always blurts out embarassing things! It's so uncool!_

His boyish smile returned as he followed her to the refrigerator ("Refrigerator!" exclaimed Serenity gladly). "Sorry sis, here lemme fix ya somethin' ta eat. Ya must be starvin' like me."

"And how!" she agreed, her eyes taking in everything from the dingy gray-green kitchen floor that had once been green tiles, to the yellowish tint of the fluroscent light on the spackled ceiling pouring down. It all seemed so beautiful. _I'm Home._ "You know, Joey, I kinda feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, you know - when she finally came home."

Joey laughed at that and came over with two roast beef with lettuce and tomato and onion sandwiches and set it between them. "Didja click yer ruby red shoes three times an' make a wish?" _I'm joking, but it's a miracle that she's alive._

"Something like that . . . " Serenity carefully plucked the bulging sandwich up to her mouth and bit; the mustard spilled out and it tasted heavenly. "Mm. It's the best thing I've have ever tasted, and I'm not exaggerating." Chewing and swallowing, she proceeded to tell him what had really happened.

"Say wha? Ya got attacked by pirates?" Joey said, leaning forward in interest in his seat across from her. "An' a tornado? Geez, sis, you really were Dorothy, ya know what I _mean_?."

"Well, not attacked, at least the second time," she amended. From being constantly so hungry for so long, her stomach seemed to have shrunk to cope with starvation. She was already full. "So, what happened to you? After the tornado hit?"

Seeing her curious expression, Joey replied. "Well, afta the water spout hit, ya know, I was thrown inta da water an' nearly drowned, ya know!" ("Mm hm," said Serenity.) "Den I found Yuge and Tea in da water, holdin' on a piece of debris, ya know, 'cause da boat was totally in pieces - oh, sorry sis."

"It's okay," she said after she had flinched. It was still a scary thing to remember. "So you swam back?"

"Yeah, last thing I know before I passed out, I saw da Coast Guard headin' fer us." He shook his head. "I really tried ta find ya sis! But I really thought you were gone."

She bowed her head in acknowledgment and understanding.

" . . . " Joey couldn't speak for a while. " . . . Den I found yer note." He hurried off in the direction of the living room, leaving his plate untouched. Serenity's eyes went wide in confusion, at that and because he never left food like that. _He must've been really broken. Maybe I shouldn't have played a ghost . . . but it was still funny!_

She was glancing around for her Mom's presence when he returned. It was a greenish Coke bottle, so dirty there was barely a discernable note inside. Serenity gasped lengthily; she opened it and read it - it was her own note she had wrote a week ago or so. "OMG, big brother . . . " she said, sounding just like him when she had pretended to be a ghost, "_You got it_!"

On impulse, she reread it, remembering all the thoughts and feelings she had had while writing it. _Uh oh._ "So . . . where's Mom?" she said, hurriedly changing the subject.

"OMG, sis, I have SO much stuff ta tell ya!" he said, slamming his hands down with a bang. Then he sat down and wolfed down. "_Soooo_ much stuff has been happenin' since you've left. I mean, since ya were gone."

"L . . . like what?" Her fingers curled down the Coke bottle as she slid into her seat, taking another bite.

"She _remarried_."

"WHAT?"

"But back to dat Coke bottle." He gestured with one hand while the other fed his mouth.

"Wait-! What's this about Mom remarrying? Who?" She said blankly with a blink. Joey paused, swallowing, and noticed how different she looked. There was a certain shrewdness around her demeanor, and her usually warm dark eyes was gazing at him fixedly. _Well, I guess living in da jungle would make a person more unsettled. I dunno._ A noise of a tree branch hit aganist the window, Serenity jumped a foot and took a quick look around.

"Geez, sis . . . " he said as her boring look fixed in him again, "Doan look at me all shrewd. Mom remarried Dad. Today." He scowled, not liking either.

_I'm . . . in shock. This is me . . . totally in shock._ Serenity felt her jaw hit the floor. "WHAT?" she yelled again. "This is wonderful, Joey! Now, we can be a family again!"

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled as she hugged him again. "At least I get ta spend more time wit ya, dat's fer sure. An' I tell ya, after dis, I'm neva lettin' ya outta my sight again!"

Serenity's smile dropped. "Uhhh . . . right. Well, tell me! How did it happen?" she said eagerly.

"Well . . . ya know . . . da usual way," said Joey. "Ma was all torn up about you bein' dead, and Pop was really shaken up when the telegram came to our 'partment." He didn't like either of their parents so he wasn't as thrilled. "They met atcher funeral, and Ma was sobbin' when they lowered what was left of you - yer windbreaker and s . . shorts." He looked her up and down then, taking note of her baggy white T-shirt and red pants.

"And? And?"

"An' . . . dat's how dey got ta talkin'." Joey shut up and concentrated on his food mutely.

Serenity, however, was enthralled. "Wow . . . " _They must've eloped! _How _romantic! _"And . . . Dad . . . isn't . . . you know . . . "

Another deeper scowl. "Well, he doesn't drink anymore, if dat's whatcha mean." It was. Serenity stood, beaming as he went on, "An' yer death really made him change. So, sis, about dat Coke bottle . . . you did write it, right? I recognized ya handwriting." Now it was Joey's turn to put her on the _hot _seat. "So . . . tell me . . . _how _did _he treat you_?"

Gulp. Serenity thought fast; she knew that she had - stupidly - written who else was on the island with her, and that included Kaiba. And by the way Joey was boring her with an impaling stare, he knew. Plus, he had even stopped eating. "Really. Well. You know, that's a really, really, really nice shirt you have on, big brother - oh hey, Mom!"

She was saved when the front kitchen door opened. Joey was disappointed, but determined. "S . . . Serenity . . . " Her mother fainted, when she saw her dead daughter standing there, beaming. Her father started slapping her cheeks, and she revived after a while. "Honey . . . she's _alive_! Oh, thank the Lord! Thank you Jesus."

Serenity straightened, and was again engulfed in both her parents' crushing embraces as they all praised God. Joey's question had made her wonder about Seto. _I wonder if he's doing all right and is as happy as me to be back?_

_Meanwhile_

Scowling, tipping the guard's cap low over his forehead, Seto stopped before the meeting room, to overhear some information about Mokuba's whereabouts. "Has the mission been successful, Gangsley?"

"No," answered a gruff voice. "The old man never returned alive. But it doesn't matter. According to the law, it's has been over fifteen days now. If the owner of a corporation doesn't return in fifteen days, it is automatically passed down to the next of kin."

Chuckles. "And has the little boy been taken 'care' of?"

"He is in an orphanage in St. Brutus." Appreciative murmurs. "But . . . there are rumors the little rascal escaped when they were cleaning his cell. Mwa ha ha." Disappointed groans. Seto clenched his fists. "But no matter; alone on the streets he will perish anyway." Not taking any more, he eased silently into the room and whipped off his hat- "-Kaiba Corporation is property - huh?"

"Of me!" There was a scrambling back as everybody gaped in their suits. Some were on the verge of fainting, then turned and ran away. Seto glared at the rest of them. "GET OUT of MY HOUSE!"

"Y-yes!" They all knew it was him, back from the dead, by that unmistakable rasp of his. And it was at its raspy-est. _Yep, still got it; _Seto watched in satisfaction as they all scurried away; the last one even hit the light switch. No matter. Standing in the glow of the streetlight from outside, Seto really did feel good to be back. Then he got a good look in the mirror. _Whoa_. And saw what scared them away.

Meanwhile, Joey was still trying to ask her _that _question while Serenity retold her parents of what happened; he gave up and settled back into scowling. _I guess they're right, the important thing is dat she's all right, but . . . I'm really glad she looks okay._

"Honey, what is dis?" her father's gruff voice asked her, picking up her duffel bag. Serenity scurried over and took it from him. Her smile grew wider, and they all looked at her curiousity etched on their faces.

"_That _. . . is my surprise. Remember how I told you that pirate contest team that rescued me told me I won? Well . . . " She spilled out the contents' of the bag, a little bit. "I won . . . five million dollars!"

Her family stared at all the gold winking and shining up at them. Hundreds of coins. "It's . . . a miracle, B-bob," he mother said faintly, clutching onto him. Even Joey forgot about his questions, all one million of them. For the moment. Now they'll never have to live in poverty again!

Six days later...

Serenity started to realize every time she said delightedly, "Microwave!" and "Toilet paper!" that her family thought she was weird. So she stopped. (Around them.)

Of course, neither of them knew how she'd suffered; without those "everyday" things. They all took them for granted. Even with toilet paper; she had to go and use a wild bush. And sometimes it had had thorns - ouch - or even poison ivy.

Scratching at her bottom, she absentmindedly turned a page while eating breakfast one morning. Today she was starting in a new private high school, dressed in an expensive uniform with her brother. Her parents hadn't wanted him to disrupt his studies - he was a junior and she a freshman - but now they wanted her to be under constant supervision, _at all times!_

That sucked.

"Hi, Joey! Ready for school?" she said, in a bright _good morning_. Joey was a bit grumpy about leaving his other friends in his old high school, but they'd promised him they'd keep in touch.

"Sis, what're ya readin'?" he mumbled, getting a carton from the fridge.

"Da newspaper," said their Dad in his gruff tone, with the same accent of all male Wheelers. "Something ya should consida!" Serenity quickly hid the paper and tucked it away in her bag. Truth be told, she had been scanning for any new news on KaibaCorp. to see if Seto had gotten his company back. For the last few days. She hadn't seen him since.

Joey continued to survey her suspiciously.

She gave him a "Look at me, I'm so innocent; how could you ever suspect someone like me?" look and a smile. He kept his mouth shut. _Sis looks different since she got back . . . her cheekbones stick out more even though she's gain mosta her body weight back, and . . . she gotta strange, shrewder look in 'er eye dat wasn't dere b'fore. . . _

It was true: all the way to school, Serenity kept jumping into tiger position, everytime a car honked loudly or roared by. And last night he'd coughed and she had jumped a mile and hit her head on the ceiling when sleeping. After school, they were walking, talking about their day, and her shoe got stuck in some mud puddle, and she'd started to panic.

"I'm sinking! I'm sinking in _quicksand_!" she yelped.

"Geez, sis. A lil' _jumpy _today, aren'tcha?" Joey easily lifted her out of the mud puddle, which had only come up to her shoe. She explained that she had fallen in quicksand on the isle. "Ya did? Den who pulled ya out . . . oh, yeah." He scuffed his sneaker, brand-new from the best store, on the Moto's front door welcome mat. "I guess I oughta be grateful to dat _Kaiba_, since he was-" He voice stuck a little bit. "He was _dere_. Wit. You."

"_Yes_, you should! _You should _be grateful!" Serenity didn't miss the opportunity to remind him as she patted his sleeve.

"I guess . . . I oughta _thank him_. But, ah well!" Joey snapped his fingers, grinning. "I doan go to school wit him anymo'! Too bad! Guess I can't!"

"Yeah . . . I guess that's a good thing, I guess..." Serenity hadn't really wanted to come to be gawked at by his friends, even though they were lovely people, but...Already news reporters have been hounding her for interviews: of surviving 18 days in total wilderness with the famous and infamous Seto Kaiba, no less! She hadn't wanted to say anything in case it jeopardized his chances of finding Mokuba.

"Hiii, Joey! Hii, Serenity!" A little black-haired boy answered the door. Apparently he'd been watching from the curtains.

"M-mokuba?" she stuttered, peering around him in hope.

"Oh yeah, sis," Joey said, while removing his shoes, "I fergot ta tell ya. Mokuba ran away to here. _Yugi's place_."

"I didn't run away!" The little messy-haired boy pouted. "I ran away from the orphanage. Those Big 5 men tried to stick me in there, but I outsmarted them!" Except for Yugi, Tristan, Tea, the place was empty.

" . . . oh." She said finally.

"We're waitin' for Kaiba ta come an' pick him up," Joey said, watching her like a hawk. She pretended to greet the others exhuberantly. "You doan happen ta know where he is so he can, _do ya_? "

"No."

"What are you grilling her, Joey," said Tea, a girl with a brown bob and big round eyes. Right now those guys were sternly fixed on Joey. "Come and sit down. Hi, Serenity. We're glad you're all right!"

"Thanks." She did so. The other began questioning her about her adventures, somethings she felt acutely uncomfortable with talking. She told them as much as she could, and they looked at her in awe. It was all very flattering. Mokuba especially looked fascinated.

"Big brother actually cooked monkey brains?" He sighed a little bit. "He hadn't had those since we wented to India."

"And he made ya _eat it_, sis?"

"Joey, they were starving. Even you'd eat anything if you were starving." said Yugi, a short boy that looked eight, with firecracker hair.

"Joey'd probably munch on a tree!" laughed Tristan. "And get a splinter!"

Everybody laughed. Mokuba said, "Splinters are gross. D' he come with you on the boat home, Serenity?"

"Yep."

"Then he must be getting here soon. He'll find me."

Serenity began to fuss with her hair. Joey was busy wrestling, but Tea noticed.

_Hmm . . ._ "So, Serenity, Joey came to find you, you know." She came to sit with her on the sofa, brown bob swinging.

"Oh, _I _know."

"Ya do?" Joey stopped putting Tristan in a headlock for splinter joke. "Ya mean ya _saw _me? Why didn't you say anything?"

Mistake. "Oh . . . well . . . I couldn't." She thought up another excuse to lie with. "He-was-holding-me-from-yelling-out-because-I-had-kicked-him-in-the-pants-and-they-were-soggy-because-I-tried-to-fix-him-and-he-was-in-pain-and-he-didn't-want-to-be-seen-with-wet-pants-and-no-it-wasn't-because-he-got-too-'excited'."

She said it all in one breath.

_Oops, I forgot. I _don't _lie._

Luckily, she'd said it in French. P h e w !

She'd learned it in school.

Joey didn't take French. "Huh?"

Tristan didn't either. He looked equally befuddled.

Tea did. "Mmph!" she choked in a sip of water. "Ha!"

Yugi did, too. "Okaaay..." He gave an Oo stare.

Mokuba didn't take it, but he knew it from traveling around the world. "My _poor_, poor, poor big brother! You BIG MEAN-Y!" He scowled fiercely at her and the doorbell rang. "It's _him_!"

They all filed out, with Joey giving his sis looks over his shoulder, but figuring she had done something bad to Kaiba, and he was all up for it. "Aren't you coming?" Tea said to Serenity.

Suddenly, she was afraid. What if _he _had remembered it, as well, and was holding a grudge? Or something? Of course, he had done a lot of stuff too, to her, that was "mean." Besides, it was a reflex! Yugi was looking sideways at her as if he hoped she wouldn't kick him there and edging away a far back as possible, when she finally joined the others.

She almost gasped. When she had sawn him a week ago, he had had unkempt, tangled hair - _another thing I did him wrong_ - and was wearing a T-shirt, all torn up and ripped . Her heart soared. But now, he was in his KaibaCorp. uniform, looking all professional and even better looking even though she preferred the non-latter.

_And with _neat _hair!_ She was afraid that she just stood there. Leveling. Like the rest.

"I thank you for taking care of my brother, Yugi," Kaiba was saying, while patting a hugging Mokuba and Yugi smiled back and said something cheerful and easygoing, like: "It's no problem, Kaiba. Anytime."

Joey said while Mokuba wiped his face, and it was so obvious by the way his voice crackled with reluctance that he was begrudging, "I guess. . . I oughta _thank ya_ fer _lookin' _afta my little _sis, Kaiba."_

Serenity heard Tristan and Tea take in a breath in suspense and dread when Joey held out a hand, she saw his gaze flick over her and give Mokuba a handkerchief. Mokuba gratefully took it from his beloved big brother, watching him with adoring watery eyes, and then scowled at Serenity, when Kaiba gave her a lip-curved glance. It was obvious to him that she hadn't told her brother a thing.

"You're welcome, monkey-boy. _Anytime_." He shortly shook the proffered hand and turned, "Come on, Mokuba." The welcome bell chinked softly.

"_Monkey-boy_?" Joey was infuriated, crossing his arms scowlingly.

"No, no, big brother." The others looked over at her. "He was talking about, see, the monkey I told you about, you know, the one I cooked?" _He remembered! Sigh..._

Tristan let out a yell. "Ha, ha! Maybe that's a sign, dude, that he wants to cook _your _brains! Won't he be disappointed!"

"Why, I oughta-!"

To Be Continued Next Chapter

* * *

**A/n:** I think, out of all the names Kaiba calls Joey, I like monkey-boy and lab rat the best. He did call him a 'lab rat' when he was about to duel Marik. And Joey said, "I'm NO _lab rat_!" LOL. That was funny; the way he said it. It made me laugh; Anyway, plz review for the next chapter ! The conclusion: Kaiba and Serenity meet ! And talk ! And-well you just have to guess ! Which I bet you can ! LOL 


	20. Isle of Serenity

**A/N:** Hey and welcome ! To the conclusion ! Boo. I know. I kind of regret blabbing about ending this story. I heard about another with the same 'being-marooned' plot, but another Kaiba pairing. _Hm_. It was MY plot ! Grr Grr Grr. But I'm not mad. All for the sake of writing; Sigh.

I think I'll write more SxS in the future, they are pretty flexible - but only as one-shots. That way, no one has to blab about my funky, what I call original, endings. And no, this doesn't have anything to do w/The New Boy (I was asked that). I was gonna pair Joey up in this fic, but I only like JoeyxTea, so . . . and not too many people do, so . . .

This is the part where he learns about Kaiba and his Sis . . . he's gonna get over it 'record speed!' . . . just chalk it up that he's been through it so many times, lol. XD Anyway, thanks for sticking with me, those that did, and those that joined, through my journey/story . . .You know who you are!I did get carried away sometimes, (sheepish) so . . . thanks. Feel free to drop me a line saying what a great writer I am. Keeps my old ticker a jolt.

_Keep on dreamin'. I don't own YuGiOh._

AllDayIDream !

**Final Chapter Twenty: Isle of Serenity**

"Hey ya Sis, didja hear? Yer boyfriend bought an island." The newspaper thunked down before her. "Ah, it feels so great ta hear dat sound an' not think _deliverin' newspapers_." Joey grinned upside-down as she scanned the article. He was still mad about the "'monkey-boy" joke, but had decided that it was pretty likely to want to be together after such a survival ordeal. Plus Serenity had said it wasn't a big deal.

"'KaibaCorp. buys new island for land for its theme parks chain, 'KaibaLand' naming it 'SerenityIsle.' " She read, going slower and slower throughout her sentence. Feeling her neck burn and cheeks tingle, she thought, Oh my Lord, Joey is so never going to elt me hear the end of it, with his _teasing _. . .

For Joey, like any older brother, any annoying older brother that is, had taken to calling her names - now, "SerenityIsle." He was still mad, as it was said, at Kaiba and her for _collaborating against him. _Joey was very theatrical. "He named it WHA! 'SerenityIsle?' " He said as her Mom and Dad came in with the maid and groceries. They had ordered a nanny because Mrs. Wheeler was pregnant.

"Who is named 'SerenityIsle'?" Mrs. Wheeler said mildly looking at her daughter and son. Joey's mouth was hanging. "Close your mouth, son, a fly might come in and lay eggs."

"Yeah!" Serenity said to take the subject off of her. She was red-faced still.

"Check dis out, Ma . . . dis Mr. Moneybags buys an island fer sis-" Joey began, throwing the article.

"He didn't buy it for me!" Serenity corrected.

"-And names it afta her. 'SerenityI-' " He was stopped as Serenity clapped her hand. Over his face. "Mmph!"

"Joey, stop teasing yer sista." Mr. Wheeler said automatically going upstairs.

"Y-yeah!"

"Oh my, why we all must go and see this island," Mrs. Wheeler said slyly.

"Sure, I'd love to show you around, Mom-"

"No, I mean to the Great Big Gala Opening this Saturday," Mrs. Wheeler pointed towards the paper. Serenity seized it and began reading again. This left Joey time to talk.

"I'm gonna go invite Yuge!" He raced upstairs. "He's gonna go and the rest of the gang too!"

"Use the other line!" called Mrs. Wheeler.

"Thanks, Mom," Serenity said as she was handed the phone. She dialed a certain number with slightly shaking fingers. At Joey's protesting, she yelled, "Mom, didn't you tell Joey to use the other line?"

"Tattler." Joey said from within the phone, "Pop's talkin'. I'm usin' it first Sis!"

"No, I am!"

"Who're you gonna call?" Together they said, "Ghostbusters!" Then, "No, seriously sis. Gonna call Mr. Dime-A-Dozen Kaiba?"

"None of your beeswax!" she said, blushing despite her coolness.

"I'm listenin' in. I gotta few things ta say to him." Joey said in a spooky, dangerous voice.

"No, you don't!"

"Yeah. I, like, DO."

"Joey, if you don't hang up - Oh! so help me - " The phone was already ringing. "Yes, front office please." Serenity continued to rant angrily as she was put on hold, "I am SO going to tell Téa!"

"Tell Téa. . . . what?"

"_You kNOW_."

"You . . . wouldn't!"

"Wheeler, why are you calling me?" A deeper more masculine voice cut in unprecedented.

"He's not-!" Serenity started to say, while Mrs. Wheeler rolled her eyes and thought, Kids with a pat on her stomach. "Hi, Seto."

"_Hiiii, Seto," _Joey copied, making her so embarassed that she couldn't speak; Kaiba was silent, amused. Perhaps feeling Serenity's anger through the telephone line, Joey went on, "Ahem. So. Naming an ISLAND afta my SIS, eh?"

"How IS the lap of luxury, Joey?" Kaiba deterred.

"Fine, thank ya fer askin'. Now. About the island. What's the DEAL?"

"What do you mean, 'What's the deal.' "

" ' SerenityIsle' is such a lame name. Why didn't ya name it after ME instead?" Joey said brightly, while Serenity snucked into his room and grabbed his cell phone. He could've just used it to call Yugi, but he was being such an _argh_! about it . . . She dialed another number.

"You're right. 'Monkey-boyIsle' has such a ring to it." Kaiba said, deadpan. "In fact, it's already been taken. It's off the coast of Thailand. I'll send a helicopter."

"Verrrry funny, Kaiba-boy. Ha ha."

"What's that? You want to go right now?"

A whirr of beating helicopter blades sounded over the Wheeler house. Joey looked up in disbelief. _He didn't. . . . _

"Here, Joey, Téa SO wants to talk to you," Serenity said breathlessly, stuffing the phone into his hand and pushing him in his room where he couldn't bother her. She could hear Téa yelling even through the closed door. "Seto? Did you really send a helicopter?"

"No, of course not."

"Oh, it's from Channel 5 News . . . "

"Right."

"Is there really a MonkeyBoy Island?" she said coyly.

"What do _you _think?"

"I think . . . you're making it up."

"I'm not making it up. Though, it would be nice to send Joey away to it, eh."

"You are SO right! He's being such a- " She groaned in frustration dramatically.

He suppressed a smile.

"You didn't really name our, I mean, your island after me, did you . . . ?"

"Of course so. You'll see when you come to it. The Great Big Gala Opening. Of my new theme park." He smirked to himself, was she in for a surprise. "You are coming?"

"Of course so." She spent the next few minutes letting herself turn red tip to toe. Aw! I have an island named after me-e! I have an island named after me-ee!

"You're going off on a tangent in that little head of yours, aren't you."

It was a statement, not a question, and in a knowing voice at that.

"Uh? What do you - I am not - " she sputtered, the blush fading and twirling the cord around her fingers.

"Mm-hm," he said like really sarcastically. "Well, I've got other stuff do now. I'll see you then. And Serenity?"

"Y-yeah?"

He gave her a riddle:

_"You were right, the first time. . ."_

Her hand froze, there was a quiet click, his voice still vibrating in her ear_. I wonder if I can ask him to say that tone again, into a tape recorder this time? _Then she'd play in again, over and over, but if Joey were to find it . . . She shuddered at the consequence of that. He'd . . . probably play it in the auditorium of our private school, on the loudspeaker during lunch! Soooooooooooooo embarrassing . . .

Joey must miss his friends . . . maybe that's why he was being such a pain in the butt. Oh well, he's seeing them tomorrow, maybe that would let him loosen up a bit. Serenity nodded to herself a multitude of times, before she heard her Mom and the maid calling them to dinner. They had kept the old house and the old kitchen despite their newfound wealth, just added some new appliances, that was it. The phone was making that "ERR, ERR," sound when its left too long off the hook, and she hung it up neatly and carefully, surprised she didn't hear it before.

She made a mental note to carry a tape recorder on Saturday, just in case. If she lost her nerve or Seto asked, she would say that she forgot it there. Joey, the same goes for him. She doubted her mother would let her go back to "That Place" alone by herself, and indeed at dinner Mrs. Wheeler reminded Joey to keep an eye out for her on Saturday. Like she was some little kid, Serenity thought mutely. _But I guess if I were Mom, I'd do to same I guess . . ._

_Sometimes I wish I were an orphan like Seto . . . _The next morning, she packed her bags, purse and laid out her clothes - after much deliberating - that she was going to wear, and spent all day washing her hair. For once, Joey wasn't there to tease her mercilessly, he was out. Kayla, Serenity's best friend who also had gotten herself transferred to her new school, helped her out. She kept saying how lucky she thought Serenity was, having a "boyfriend" like Kaiba, and having Joey for a brother. She had a crush on the both of them.

"I'd switch with you," Serenity said, talking about Joey, but only joking.

"Deal, girl! I wish I could go too, but Mom says no. Bleah."

"Ha, ha," Serenity teased her friend, being glad their was someone there to do it to. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm trying to set Joey up on a date, with Téa . . . I asked her to go out with him, but she said no . . . I tried flattering her to coax her, but she ran away!"

"Tee hee . . . " Since Kayla herself was too young, she suggested, "Didn't he like, like, like that _Mai_?"

"Oh . . . yeah . . . " Serenity quit blow-drying her hair, deeply thinking. "Did he, I think?" And did she most importantly . . . ?

"She must like him now, now that he's rich," Kayla said reading her mind like all best friends did. "sigh . .. "

"Maybe YOU could go out with Mokuba; you guys could be twins! He does seem to think highly of himself." She was only kidding, but they entertained that idea for the rest of the night, and Joey interrupted them by crashing their sleepover. Serenity giggled as he best friend turned beet-red, as they were in their underwear, and Tristan who had come along to visit, too, turned red. Serenity heard Joey tease him about it all night long through the wall.

I'll just stay out of Joey's love life and hope that he stays out of mine, she thought hopefully. As the next day came, it was Saturday morning, the sky was out from a good early morning rain. Serenity had a shiver of a feeling - a feeling that could only be described as _dé jà vu._

She sat up in bed, looking bleakly out the window, remembering her just-had nightmare. Surprisingly, she wasn't thrashing around in bed, or sweating and screaming like she usually did after a nightmare. _Maybe . . . I'm getting braver._ And it was a really vivid one too, about getting sucked up, vaccuum-like, in an eminent endless tornado. She could still hear echoing screaming in her head.

With a small shrug, she yanked off the covers and took stock, feeling very grown-up. Of course, she was nearly fifteen, actually 3:00 p.m. today, she was. She checked her red-digital clock. Five more hours till.

"Happy birthday, Sis!" Joey called as he rushed by, up for once. She was brushing her hair, again, already dressed. She murmured a thanks and a nod, because her mouth was full of toothbrush. The boat was taking off at noon.

As they waited for it by the pier, she thought about how ironic this all was. Nearly eighteen days before, it was Seto's birthday, and Mokuba had invited them to a party on his yacht . . . unbeknownst to him . . . She saw that she wasn't the only one getting dé jà vu.

"Wow, this seems just like the first time when that tornado hit us," Téa whispered, hugging her windbreaker closer tighter.

"Yeah," said Yugi. "Except, there's a blue sky today. Remember? That last time, it was cloudy."

"Let's not think about that!" said Tristan. "Blue sky, schmoo sky, who cares?" They all nodded.

"You okay?" Téa said to Serenity, who like Joey, was unusually silent. "It must be hard . . . to remember . . . since you're the only one who didn't make it back like the rest of us."

Serenity opened her mouth then changed her mind. "Mm hm." Truthfully, she was kind of nervous, but she didn't want to seem timid - anymore.

They all exchanged glances when the boat arrived, it seemed so much like the yacht, now-destroyed, piece of it somewhere in the South Pacific. Here and there. Except for the great big sign, 'Great Big Gala Opening' and S E R E N I T Y I S L E written below that. She felt her face turn red, causing everyone to turn and gawk at her; she was sure that they all knew who that was.

She half-expected Kaiba or maybe Mokuba to be there, but he wasn't. They made it there okay, with no problem. Joey seemed a little eseasick. Mokuba - who in fact was there, he was just so short you couldn't see, announced into a loudspeaker microphone:

"Welcome."

He added, to SerenityIsle, but luckily it was drowned off - not literally - by the cheering of the other people who saw the ad and wanted to come. Serenity heard them chant _Kaiba, Kaiba,_ as they boarded onto the island, like a million-footed centipede. _My, I didn't know that he had such a fan club . . ._ She was relieved to notice that most of them were boys.

She smoothed her clothes down as she looked around with the rest of her brother's friends. She hadn't known what to wear - usually her clother were kind of tomboyish - but she had wanted to look nice, at least nicer than usual. So she'd settled for a crisp-white jeans and a dark vest with no shirt underneath, and with her hair freshly-washed and burnished, hanging in copper layers down and around, she looked very grown-up and pretty. She could see some of the older boys looking at her, nearly toppling over one another. Of course, they were so tightly packed in, that could dbe the reason, but she couldn't help throwing out chest out as she walked behind the others towards the front gate.

It was exquiste. A rolling front gate, with the shouting and laughter from within, it looked just like any other theme park. Trees shone like deep-emerald-green bushes, so bright it nearly hurt the eyes. She wished she had thought to bring sunglasses, like Joey, or maybe not; he wore a really goofy-looking pair. She saw Téa laughing at him and him grinning boyishly, and smiled to herself in secret.

As they moved in line to pay, Serenity got out her birthday money that her Dad had given her that morning, since Joey had "accidentally" forgot, and Mokuba popped up behind the bored and harried looking woman. "No, no, you three are VIP," he said, ushering them like sheep around the counter through the gate. "VIP! VIP!" he kept screaming. Yugi gave Serenity a look.

"Grandpa didn't give him any sugar," he said. _Or else he would act like this!_ was the implied part of the statement. She grinned.

"Wow, a spa _and _a theme park!" exclaimed Téa, who looked right and left at a fork. There was a white street sign pointing into two different directions, one left and the other, right. One said in loopy cursive, 'Health Treatment Spa: Get Yourself Pampered' and the other said, 'KaibaLand: Daycare Available.' "Wow," Téa went on, brushing her own sunglasses onto the top of her head, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting myself pam-pered!"

"Look, Joey, 'Daycare Available'," grinned Tristan pointing.

"And WHY should I care 'bout dat?" Joey said menancingly, as Tristan smirked and grinned. They got in a wrestling fight. Serenity gawked, but Yugi and the others seemed unconcerned. Maybe they saw it all the time to care.

"Sound fun Téa," Yugi said, and it was obvious he was just being nice, "But I wanna go to the KaibaLand Theme Park. Look, roller coaster rides."

"Super scary," Téa declared. "Me and Serenity'll go, and Yugi, you babysit Joey, okayies?"

"Hey!" said Joey, unperturbed. "I'm olda than him, ya know-! Téa, take care of my Sis."

They were just about to go - Serenity thought she'd much rather go to the theme park first, and then get a spa treatment - when Mokuba ordered:

"No! Seto has big plans for ALL of you. You all have to stick together."

"When did we hear this before?" Joey muttered to Tristan.

"Don't worry, afterwards, you can all go wherever you want, it on us!" Mokuba said enthusiastically, leading the way, nearly getting lost in the crowd because he was so short.

They followed him - barely - and went inside a tall building. Serenity noted that she didn't even recognize the island from before, save the shorefront. Maybe. What if he was in here, to present the girl he'd named the island for? She'd have to make a speech. In front of everyone. It was all very flattering, but . . .

But he didn't do that. She felt a heart-lift at the sight of him, dressed similarly like in the Motou's when he'd gone to pick up his brother: a dark grey coat that reached the floor, looking all-fine and neat. She fancied that she could even smell freshly-pressed and ironed clothes. Joey continued to look suspicious, as if Kaiba were to attack them all with a gun.

But of course, he didn't. He said something to the effect of, "Welcome and I'm glad you could make it. This'll be a test of my new idea, and I want you to tell me what you think. You are all my guinea pigs!"

"Yer what?" Joey said. Kaiba ignored him.

"This way." He gestured through a dark door, and as she passed him, she gave him a look that said, _What is going on?_ and to which his look said back, _You'll see_ - a knowing smile.

As they stood in the dark, Serenity recalled the riddle he had given earlier. Could this have something to do with it. As the group shuffled nervously, she thought about how much it had changed. The island. Of course, she was happy, but it all seemed so sad . . . she wasn't sure that she liked it all changed like this . . . It seemed like a holy sacred place to her now, a very special place. She stared at the concrete floor.

When she looked up again, she saw that the scene had changed. No longer was it pitch-black darkness, but obviously fake bushes were about, like cardboard cutouts. Illuminated by light, it gave a very spooky atmosphere. "This is my game," he said, "Survivor." By their terrified expressions, one would think that they were going through Death-T again, but it was more like the TV show. An RPG.

Joey got a snakebite, and Téa got the flu, so it was a little bit like the Oregon Trail, and Seto got mauled by a bear, which looked very real, and Serenity couldn't help noticed he in-place he looked. This was his home. Virtual reality.

At least, that was what Joey said. He kept complaining; "I dot ya wouldn't like VR afta all da stuff we'd been troo wit it," he said, limping slightly, fron his snakebite.

"Uh, Joey, according to this, you died," Yugi said, looking up at the stats screen glowing. Joey immediately collasped. Fakely, of course.

"It is NOT VR system; at least, not all of it. I'm not going to fool around with that anymore," Kaiba declared, and everyone else rolled their eyes or exchanged "Yeah, right!" looks. Despite her earlier musing about the island, Serenity thought the game was very . . . . interesting.

"I liked it," she said, sticking up for him and earning a smiling glance. "How about the rest of you guys?"

She glowered at them all without Seto seeing, the hiding lights helped. They quickly murmured agreeing assent.

"But you know Kaiba, you could do this . . . " Yugi went on to describe how he could make it look less scarier, so little kids could enjoy it too, and Kaiba said the 'little kids' need some backbone, and but he'll think about it. Something about the way he said it made Serenity get the impression that he was keeping something still from them, or else he just didn't care what Yugi said and he'd do it the way he wanted.

That's probably it, she thought with a sweatdrop, apparently Téa was thinking among the same line because a sweatdrop was hanging from her hair too. "Pretty scary, more like creepy," she murmured under her breath. "Oh yeah, Serenity! Sorry I forgot, to wish you a happy birthday earlier."

They stepped into the brilliant blue sunshine. "I agree, I think it was cool!" Mokuba was saying, looking at Serenity with instant like, since she'd stuck up for him. "After all the hours you've put into it. . . ." He gave a very Serenity-like, or was it Kaiba-like? glower at the rest, they shuffled their feet and mumbled something about not knowing how many hours that Kaiba had put into it.

"Birthday, hm . . . " Kaiba said in an undertone, and, louder, "Well, you all can go and enjoy the rest of my theme park. Free of charge today. Except you Wheeler." He grinned, refusing to give Joey a neon pass.

"Verrrry funny." Joey snatched one from his hand, and told Téa again to watch out for his Sis.

Téa didn't know exactly what he'd meant by that, until she was walking behind Kaiba with Mokuba on one of his sides, and Serenity on the other. Serenity was saying, "You seemed kind of like a dad . . . " Kaiba replied something that Téa didn't catch.

"Hey! Wait for me!" she said. "You all are going to the spa . . . ?" Téa glanced incredulous first at Kaiba, then back at Serenity.

"I wanna go to the theme park," rathered Mokuba.

"You have to stay and give out the tickets, make sure no one sneaks in and make sure that Joey doesn't uh, destroyed anything!" Kaiba said.

Téa had to agree, but only secretly.

"Joey wouldn't!" Serenity said to him. "Sure he is a klutz . . . but so is everyone . . .one time or another."

Mokuba scampered away, disappearing into the swallowing crowd. As they neared the building with the flat tops on a white sandy beach, Kaiba told Téa to buzz off. Well, not in those exact words - he gave her a ticket to one building and he and Serenity went into another building. Téa was only too happy to leave them be. Since they were still building under construction, they had to be at the same massage building at the same time, but Téa stayed far away as if she knew they wanted their space. The treatment was heavenly. A lot of the moms and dad who sent their children off to play were there, looking like they were in nirvana or something.

After a good four hours of being masssage into jelly, Téa went off to try 'mudbaths' - she told Serenity just for a few minutes where she was headed off - and Serenity got and buttoned her vest on. "Why are you smirking like that?" she questioned.

"Wait until she see what 'mudbaths' are," he laughed.

" . . . I don't wanna know. I don't wanna know!" Serenity declared, going into the towel room. What he'd meant by that. At fifteen - she checked her watch - _one more hour. Till I'm fifteen. Wonder how old he is. I think that he told me. I forgot._

"Who are you waiting for?" She kept checking her watch and he was puzzled by it.

"Uh, no one. Oh, what the hey, I'm going into the sauna." She started to open the door to it, which was full of blissful-looking women and men, and he stopped her, looking very rumpled.

"You can't. Not after a massage. Don't you know. You could faint in there." He said all-knowingly and superior-like. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at it and instead worked on looking sad. "Tell you what," he said, whispering as he came in closer, "All my situations are in check, so . . . pst, pst pst . . . "

"Okay," she said after a minute. He grinned at her and she grinned back. He left then and she felt nervous. It was getting hot in here . . . "So take off all my clothes!" she sang quietly, to herself, once in the women's locker room. An old lady gave her a weird glance, causing her to giggle nervously. "I can't believe I'm doing this; I must be out of my mind!" she yelled at the lady softly, and the old lady's face cleared.

"Just say no, dearie," she advised, hobbling off with her cane. Serenity stared after her for a moment. The woman was right, wasn't she? Oh well. She trusted Seto. He seemed to be in a good mood today. Today. Besides, she wasn't a little kid anymore. She felt wild. It was her birthday, and she was going to enjoy it, she thought determindedly. _I bet that the old woman, when SHE was fifteen, went . . . and . . . did . . . this . . .!_

_In the 1950's or something . . ._ Serenity took off her clothes to the bathing suit, and started to take off her watch, but decided not to. _I trust him, really really do. With my life. Hasn't he saved my life from that man, and before that, the quicksand on this very island? Didn't he, Serenity? _It was waterproof_. I am not afraid anymore of anything._

Surprising how poignant the simple sentence - 7 words only - felt. _Of anything_. Especially the last couple. It kind of put her, she fancied, in a dreamlike state as she went through the double doors. It was so fogged up that she could barely see anything, then she saw a couple of distracting kids running around through the haze.

"I didn't think you would come." He said simply. She shivered, from nervousness and the way the words seem to roll right over her skin, like a physical touch. She didn't say anything, probably a squeak would emuse if she tried as he took her by one hand and helped her into the whirlpool. Then, just like that, as if a switch, her nervousness faded.

It was no big deal . . . really . . . the hazy dream, however, stayed. They had to pool all to themselves.

"Why not?" she said, with her voice so softly put it wasn't heard over the sounds of the jets. But he read her mouth. Even though, he didn't know how to.

"I don't know. Who knows?" he said, "So what did you really think?" From so close, she could see his face, his expression, but not from far away, she couldn't.

She assumed he meant about this island. "The game I liked, but I don't think . . . I like this whole theme park." He looked mildly surprised.

"Why not?" he asked. She looked down, bemusedly. ". . . ."

"I would have thought that you would wear that coat here."

"What? Why would I?" he said as she laughed a little bit, covering her mouth. "Don't you like it?"

"Not really. I liked you better they way you were . . . on the island together." She pictured him, laying back her head on his arm which was around her. "Shorts and T-shirt. Aah."

"Are you . . . _having pictures_ of me?"

He said it so . . . knowingly that she pinkened, and it wasn't because of the hot water. "Well, you do . . . look better . . . in regular clothes. Just a suggestion!" she said.

_I do wear regular clothes . . . . when I sleep._ He lay his head back as well, straing up at the tiled blue-and-white pattern of the ceiling. "Why didn't you like it?"

"Oh . . . the theme park . . .well, it's not that I don't like it . . ." she hedged.

"You're stall-ing."

"But! But . . . I just kind of wish that this would be just the way it was, like all nature and stuff." She moved the bubbles from the water around, remembering when he had tried to cook her alive. _I would be suspectful NOW, but except he's in here with me. _"We had a great adventure, don't you think?"

He looked indulugent. "But it has a lot of bad memories. For you. And me."

"All of them?"

"Well, not all."

"There were some," she grinned gently.

"Mmm . . . I guess you're right." He said like as if she'd asked him a favor, buy only just pretending. Instead, in fact - he was looking at her like she were a big plump juicy piece of meat, and he was starving. Only not creepy as it sounds.

Next thing she knew, she was drawn in. Climbing, she said, "You DO have something under there, right?" _I can't see from all the bubbles . . . _

"Of course!" he scoffed, "What, do you think you'd get lucky? _Again_?"

She turned the color of her hair. "It didn't see anything that time, you know . . . I only saw up to your waist. Nothing . . . below; honest." She held up two fingers; it seemed important that he believed her, because that was what started the whole was on the island they had had. He relaxed. She got indignant again. "Meanwhile, YOU . . "

"Yes, me . . . " he said, leaning forward, dodging her splash. "I got to see the whole thing." She might've smacked him, sounding all _victorious_, except he was using that husky-grinding voice again. _Oh man . . . and me with no tape recorder . . ._ He stopped his face millicentimeters away.

Oh well, she thought shakily, he's probably think I was mentally challenged.

"You're lucky I like you," she sassed, looking at him through her dark eyelashes. He saw that she was wearing just a bit of makeup, on those beautiful eyes of hers, but her lips were naked and pearly-pink

" 'Like'?" His azurite eyes surveyed her.

"Okay, I love you. If it was just like, I would've smacked you by then," she admitted, on his lap, him draping whisper-soft aganist her jawline. She tiltled her head to one side, reaching for the back off his neck. "It's true, you know. I don't know exactly, precisely, why, but I do . . . "She put her face up to his so their foreheads banged together and the sides of their noses were brushing, "love you."

There was a short silence; he thought that she could look at him like that and he would believe anything she had to say, no matter how farfetched, unlikely, improbable it was, but he'd believe it because of the color of her hair, or her eyes. It was a strange feeling, to fall in love, for him, it was rather like being detached from your own body and watching from above. Like it was happening to someone else, but not him kind-of-feeling.

She was looking at him kind of hopefully, at his lips rather that up at his eyes. They were so close. And neither was pulling away. Unsing that rumbly tone again, he said, "Well, I can't promise you that I'll close down this theme park - it makes too good a money - but I do hear it's your birthday today . . . ?"

She bit her lip softly and didn't answer, for a good ten minutes. Disappointment was bitter taste. "Oh. Yeah." She had almost forgotten, she moved one of her wrists up to check her watch behind his head. "3:00 on the dot." She stared at it hapharzardly. "Wow."

"That was when you were born?"

"Yep."

"Seems ironic that SerenityIsle opened up on your birthday, and we were marooned to MY birthday, eh . . . ?"

She flinched at _'SerenityIsle'._ "Guess so."

"What's the matter? You don't like the name?"

"Er . . . " She didn't, but it WAS kind of flattering, so . . . "It'll . . . grow on me. Like you, I suppose." He supressed a smile; it was SO obvious that she was disappointed. Because . . .

"You suppose. You think you would be sure, if I told you I loved you?" He said, finally bridging the gap, kissing her fervently.

"M . . . maybe . . . " She wrapped her arms around him with all her heart and soul. "Maybe," she said again, pulling back; Seto took her hand and kissed it, looking and holding her eye as he said it.

"I do, love you. But, _I _know why: You're so sweet . . . beautiful, clothed or no . . . ." He earned a well-deserved swat, ". . . and _sweet_." He nuzzled her neck sensually; she nuzzled him back, feeling lightheaded and as starving as they were starving, back eighteen days ago. "Especially . . . here and there . . . " He whispered. She shivered at the tingling of her skin, his breath felt icy, contrasting with the hot wetness . . .

_It's true, I am!_ she conceded; throughout all the good fortune she had had recently, she felt the happiest now. _I'm glad I bought a brand-new bikini, one of those designer ones . . . _She climbed on his lap, still feeling hungry. It was getting so hot, the temperature . . . the water was boiling, just like in the . . . 'Serenity' stew . . .

And ate him up . . .

(Yum and . . .he was sweet, too . . .)

* * *

The END!

* * *

**A/n: .** . . .

Okay, if anyone says that that's a bad ending, _I'll _eat them! She didn't really eat him up, it's just an expression? cliche? phrase? saying? of mine . . . the point is, don't take it seriously. It amused me. (points pointedly to humor genre)

Laugh. I did ! (points to self) BTW, If anyone got it, SerenityIsle was supposed to pertain to the fact that Kaiba opened up a new spa center, get it? Serenity? Spa? I think he oughta consider it ! Seriously. Lol

Also amuses me to picture my readers' faces, when they read that last line . . . ok, two last lines . . . boy am I tired, I wrote this all in seven hours. Straight. How many does it take usually for other writers. (Curious)

I know there's probably gonna be a lot of " . . . " in the reviews. . . .lolz. And "O . . kaaay . . . " and "O.o" XD

Thanks a lot for reading the conclusion my fic. I adore Still


End file.
